


A New Life

by CartoonJessie



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, I mean we all know Hux's dad is a dick, M/M, Modern AU, Reyux, Reyuxmas, Tiny Home AU, Tiny House AU, reyux endgame, so hence why I'm not mentioning them, thanksgiving week story, there are abuse mentions in here - but as usual with my stories, there are more ships in here than just Reyux but they're tiny, there is nothing too graphic in there (i hope), you'll see it if you read it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:16:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 27,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21532936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CartoonJessie/pseuds/CartoonJessie
Summary: Forced to start over, Hux finds himself without a job, without a house and without friends in the Tiny House Domain - a property inhabited by the friendliest neighbors one can imagine, in the tiniest homes possible. But Hux is antisocial, weird, and a big mystery. Rey's curiosity and goodness is always hard to contain, but will she manage to crack his hard shell and figure out what led the former businessman to their little paradise? And will he stick around to build a new life, or be on his merry way before her curiosity is sated?
Relationships: Armitage Hux & Rey, Armitage Hux/Rey
Comments: 150
Kudos: 91
Collections: Reyuxmas 2019





	1. The Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> This story is already finished, just at the beta right now! (Thanks, Verena!)  
It will be several chapters long, less than 30K in total. 
> 
> I chose not to use archive warnings, but will put them here.  
We all know Hux's dad was an abusive son of a bitch, so that's also in the story. My descriptions are never too graphical and I don't do it for the shock-value, so I hope you're all fine with reading it. In case you're very bad with even the slightest hints at abuse, best to skip the story. :-(   
There is also a mention of pregnancy, of death (Rose's sister), coming out, and probably more. But they're not the main themes of the story.
> 
> I was partly inspired by those lovely "Tiny House" documentaries on Netflix. I really love tiny houses!  
It's also written for Reyuxmas, to fit in the Thanksgiving theme as it mentions the holiday! 
> 
> If you read it, don't forget to leave a comment! :-) I always reply to let you know when the new chapter is up!

Whenever someone moved into what their owner had called ‘The Tiny House Domain’, the other inhabitants of the property would gather with snacks and drinks to welcome their new neighbor and to show them around.

This time was no different. Rose and Finn brought red wine, Poe had brought cheese and crackers, and Rey had made chocolate and caramel brownies.

They didn’t know much about the new inhabitant. Madame Holdo, the owner of the four tiny houses and its surrounding domain, had sent them a mail earlier that week, but since she wasn’t in the country herself, there hadn’t been an opportunity to ask for more information. All they knew was that the new resident’s name was Armitage Hux, and that he would be staying in the in-between house for an undetermined period of time.

The in-between house lacked personality. Made of dark wood to give it a chalet-look, it was placed on top of an old flatbed trailer and looked a little outdated. Most of the year it was empty, but every now and then, guests would drop by and stay the night there, or they’d help out single mothers that were looking for a place to live after a rough divorce, just for a month or so before they moved onto a bigger property again.

As it was November, it was quite cold and rainy – and terribly dark already, even though it was only seven PM. Walking up to the side of the property where the in-between house stood, they spotted the car that stood parked outside, and Poe whistled.

“That Mercedes is more expensive than a tiny house,” he muttered softly, and Rey found it to be quite weird as well to find such a large and fancy car to belong to someone who was moving into a tiny house.

Not just that, but though the lights inside the house were on, the curtains were all closed – and she wondered if whoever lived there now wasn’t feeling claustrophobic because of it. Maybe he was scared of the surrounding forest? It was a little eerie at night, if you weren’t used to it.

Rose knocked on the door before she took a step back and waited among her neighbors for Armitage Hux to open the door, whoever he was.

They could hear movement inside the house, and when the door opened, it only opened a few inches, enough for the new inhabitant to see who was outside.

“Hi there, neighbor!” Finn greeted him cheerfully. “We’re the other tiny house residents of this domain!”

Even after Finn was done talking, the door hadn’t opened an inch further.

Rey could make out that he was still young – younger than Poe it seemed, but older than her, Finn and Rose. And his ginger hair color was hard to miss. He was wearing what seemed like a business suit without the vest. It didn’t seem like a practical outfit for someone who lived in a forest now.

“Yes?” he replied, his tone cold and uninterested.

“We thought we’d come and introduce ourselves! Just so you would know what we’d look like in case you saw us wandering around.”

At that the door opened but an inch further, and Hux looked each of them in the eye for a moment.

Rey was quite surprised by how distant he seemed. It wasn’t often that she met anyone who seemed so… dead inside.

“Appreciated,” he said in a dull tone after he’d looked at all of them. “Have a good evening.”

As the door closed in their face again, they stood there for a few seconds, wondering what on earth had just happened before they looked at one another and frowned.

Something was terribly off about Armitage Hux, and the moment they were out of earshot, they couldn’t shut up about it.

+++

Rey was usually the quiet one as Poe, Finn and Rose bickered and argued about everything. It was no different this time.

They were sitting around the campfire near Poe’s house. Though his wasn’t much bigger than the in-between house, there was a little wooden deck around his home, as well as a basketball ring up against the outer wall, and his house stood apart by having more modern windows and a sleek design.

A little further away from his house, there were some comfortable benches with lots of pillows and cushions, as well as extra blankets. The flames kept them warm as the outside temperature was dropping towards a freezing point, and Finn could not stop talking about Hux.

“I mean, he must have seen I was holding a bottle of wine, and the cheese and crackers, and Rey’s tin of brownies! How can you see that and think it’s not for you? And if he knows it’s for him, why can’t he accept our generosity and at least let us finish our introductions? He didn’t even ask for our names.”

“All I can imagine is that he doesn’t intend to stick around for very long,” Poe added. “I mean, look at his car. That doesn’t look like it belongs to someone living in a tiny house or someone who appreciates the lifestyle.”

“He was dressed weird,” Rose remarked.

“They call that _business style_, Rose,” Finn teased her, and she rolled her eyes.

“I mean, weird for living here. If you need to climb up to your loft, you don’t do so wearing a business suit.”

As they passed the cheese and crackers among each other, they talked for a long while, discussing old residents of the property and how much better most of them had been, though some others had been quirky as well.

Some of them, Rey had never even met. It had been six years since she’d moved into the property, and Finn and Poe had lived here as well back then. Rose had moved into the in-between house after her sister had died, and had eventually moved in with Finn almost a year before.

Holdo lived in the large house on the street-side of the property, but she was out of town a lot.

It was the in-between house that was closest to the actual forest, though their property seemed to blend in seamlessly as well. Rey could see his house from her porch, and when they were all ready to call it a night and she was gathering her keys, she could not help but look at the illuminated house of the mysterious stranger.

Looking back at the tray of brownies, over half of which were gone now, she decided to give it one more go.

+++

As his door opened again and he saw her standing there, he frowned.

“Yes?” he asked, not opening the door, just like before.

“My name is Rey, I live over there,” she introduced herself, beckoning towards her own tiny home – a quaint, wooden little house hidden between trees, with a pointy roof and a tiny chimney. “I know it’s none of my business, but I just wanted to make sure you were all right. Going tiny is a big adjustment for most, and I know that many people don’t end up here voluntarily all the time. And since Madame Holdo isn’t here, I also wanted to make sure you weren’t left with any questions regarding the property. I’ve lived in this house too before I built my own tiny house, so I can imagine you might have some questions.”

He looked at her for a few moments, frowning and doubting, until he opened the door for her.

“Actually, I can’t get the stove lit and it’s freezing in here. I’m not sure I have the proper kindling and such. And there’s no manual.”

Rey smiled warmly.

“Oh, I can definitely help with that! I have the same stove in my own place.”

As she stepped into his tiny house, she saw that he hadn’t really done anything to unpack. She had no idea where his stuff was, but all she saw was a bag of Tesco’s on the counter. She put her brownies beside it, saying: “You might want to try these later on, I assure you they’re very good.”

He didn’t look her in the eye, just nodded. She figured that maybe a part of him was shy.

He had been right though – the house was very cold, as was usually the case when no one had lived in there during the coldest months of the year. Maybe that was why he hadn’t opened the door any wider for them – maybe he’d been afraid they’d bring the cold in.

As Rey showed him how to prepare the kindling and lit the stove for him, he was behind her, watching her every move so he’d never have to ask her again.

When the fire was burning nicely, Rey suggested: “Shall I explain how the composting and the toilet work?”

He hesitated again, but reluctantly agreed, figuring that he needed someone to explain it all.

When she was done with that, she pointed out some cabinets that were hidden away quite well, but still had valuable storage space.

“Storage is always an issue in these tiny houses,” she said. “There never seems to be enough. And it’s best to utilize all your spaces so that it doesn’t get too cluttered. It needs to be a little bit clean to live in.”

She was once again aware there was nothing in the house that seemed to be his, and asked: “Do you have your stuff coming in tomorrow or so?”

His jaw clenched at that question, and for a moment she feared she had hit a sensitive subject.

“No,” he replied coolly.

He had crossed his arms and was once more looking at everything but her, and she raised an eyebrow.

“Is this an in-between thing for you?” she wondered. “I mean, I know it’s the ‘in-between’ house, but are you waiting for an apartment or something to become available?”

Frustrated by her question, he started making his way to the door. Rey figured that he was going to show her out.

“I’m sorry if I’m asking you annoying questions,” she apologized before he could say anything. “I just want you to know that if there is anything you need at all – some information, or some sugar, or just a talk, you are more than welcome in my place. Most of us are very isolated. We only have each other.”

As she said those last words, he looked up at her in what seemed to be surprise.

“How come you’re isolated?” he suddenly asked, not opening the door just yet, though his hand was on the handle.

“I have no family,” she admitted. “My parents abandoned me as a child, and I grew up in the system. Then when I was 18, I moved here. I knew Finn because he had also grown up in the system. Poe’s parents are both dead and he has no brothers or sisters, and the rest of his family lives in the States. He’s a pilot – so he does see them every now and then – and he’s also out of the house a lot. And then Rose used to live with her sister, but when she died she couldn’t afford it anymore, so she moved into this house as well, where she met Finn.”

While she had told him that, he hadn’t looked away once. Progress, Rey figured.

“Is it doable, living here when you don’t have a job?” he asked next, and Rey wondered if he had quit his job, or if he was about to quit it.

“Well, there is still a bit of rent to pay, so you need to make a living somehow,” Rey explained. “But it’s doable. I sell cupcakes for birthday parties and do some handy-work in the neighborhood.”

He seemed confused. “You bake cupcakes in your tiny house?”

She smiled. “No, not usually. I can use Madame Holdo’s kitchen for that. It’s massive. Thank heavens, because I sometimes need to make over a hundred cupcakes in a day – I wouldn’t have enough room to store them all. And in exchange, I take care of her plants when she’s away, like she is now.”

“I don’t bake,” he suddenly said, eyes cast to the floor, and Rey wondered what he was so worried about.

“But you need a new job?” Rey asked.

Without looking at her, he nodded.

“If you want, we can brainstorm?” she offered. Seeing how his hand was still on the handle of the door, she added: “But we could do so tomorrow, if you want? Feel free to drop by whenever.”

He wasn’t looking at her anymore, but just nodded and opened the door for her.

“Oh, and I want my tin back when you’re done with the brownies!” she said pleasantly, smiling at him. “Enjoy them!”

As she walked away, he was quiet for a while longer. It took a dozen seconds before she heard him say: “Thank you!” – and then followed the sound of the door slamming behind her.

He was quite strange, Rey figured. Maybe traumatized, in some way. Something was strange about the way he had dodged her gaze so much. Whatever it was, she hoped she’d get enough time to figure it out and help him along.


	2. Getting to Know You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is relentless in trying to get to know her mysterious neighbor...

It was quite rainy the next day, and so after she was done baking cupcakes in the morning and they’d been picked up in time for the party, Rey didn’t leave her tiny house anymore. From her reading nook, she had a view on the in-between house, and every now and then she gazed out the window to see if there was a sign of life, but the curtains remained closed and Armitage Hux did not emerge.

Then, late in the afternoon, she saw him come out, dressed in his fine suit with a long gray coat over it, looking very classy, but a bit cold. He carefully watched out where he stepped in order not to make his shoes dirty and headed to his car, before another car suddenly drove up. In the car was a young couple, who politely shook Armitage’s hand, and it seemed like they were introducing themselves, and then he was explaining a few things while they looked at his car and walked around it.

Rey did not look away. She didn’t feel particularly guilty about that, either. It was a dull day, after all, and she was trying to figure him out.

After ten minutes or so, he handed over the car keys to the man, who got into Hux’s car, then drove away with it, followed closely by the woman in the other car.

Hux stood there, watching them leave, and was rather soaked before he went back into his house, looking utterly depressed.

Rey wondered what was wrong with him, and if there was anything she could do. She hoped that soon, he would drop by to take her up on the offer she’d made the night before, but as it grew darker, she received no visitors.

When she was about to make dinner, she hesitated. She just wanted to make sure he had something to eat.

Putting on her raincoat, she walked outside and headed towards his house, hoping he would not slam the door in her face.

+++

“Oh, hello, Rey!” he said, genuinely surprised to see her after he’d opened the door.

“Hi, Armitage,” she replied, finding his name a very weird one, but shooting him a hopeful gaze. “I was wondering if you’d eaten today? I was about to start cooking and I have plenty for two.”

He tilted his head in a confused manner. It was not what he’d expected and for a moment he froze.

“Did you eat already?” she asked again, and as he shook his head, she smiled. “Then why don’t you come on over to my place in about twenty minutes?”

A brief nod, and Rey smiled warmly.

“Great! See you then!”

+++

Rey’d watched the clock the moment she’d entered her own house again and had started cooking. Exactly twenty minutes later, a tap on the door followed, and Rey shouted: “Come on in! It’s open!”

As he stepped inside, Rey quickly said: “Could you take off your shoes please? With this weather I’d rather not have to mop the floor – it takes ages to dry when it’s wet outside.”

“Of course,” he mumbled, taking his shoes off, and Rey slid open a little cabinet underneath her staircase to take out a pair of white slippers.

“Here, you can put these on,” she told him as she undid the plastic wrapping from them. “Poe steals these from hotels every now and then. Well – he gets them for free at the fancy ones, it’s not really stolen. They aren’t built to last for very long, but they’re great for guests and such.”

As he put on the white slippers, he looked down at them. Though they didn’t look very elegant underneath his business suit, at least his feet were warm and comfortable.

As he smelled the basil and tomato sauce in the air, he wondered: “Spaghetti?”

Rey nodded as she returned to the pot where the sauce was simmering.

“Yes!”

“Good,” he replied, standing awkwardly by the door as he watched her little kitchen and house. The kitchen was bigger than the rest of the living space, where she only had a 2-person couch and a keyboard and some books up on the wall. She had plenty of counter space for cooking, and a large oven as well.

Everything had a warm and brown color, and as he did not move while he looked around, Rey said: “Why don’t you sit down?”

He saw she had two barstools by the counter, and sat down on one, his hands immediately folded in his lap. He watched her as she let the water from the pasta drain in her metal colander, and then put the spaghetti in the pot and started stirring.

She then suddenly stopped and said: “Oh! Did you maybe want to pick the amount of sauce yourself? I’m sorry – some people like to keep it separated until it’s on their plate, but I have the habit of just mixing everything together straight away.”

“It’s fine,” he quickly told her, sitting very still until she was done scooping up their plates and she offered him a spoon and fork.

“Bon appetit!” she told him, and he just muttered a quiet “thank you” before he began to eat.

He was a slow eater, Rey thought – or perhaps she was just a very quick one, and she tried to slow down a bit.

“Oh, I forgot to ask, what would you like to drink? I have some wine, water, eh…” She didn’t recall if she had anything else in the house.

“Water will do,” he replied, and Rey got up to fill a jug from the tap.

As she took two glasses, then put the jug in front of him, she saw how he had wide eyes as he looked at the jug. Maybe he wasn’t used to drinking tap water.

“Don’t worry, it’s filtered,” she told him, and he quickly continued eating.

Part of her had hoped he’d ask for some alcohol. Maybe it would help to loosen him up a bit, but now she had her work cut out for her.

He felt strange and distant, like he’d never been invited to someone’s place before. When he was done eating, he did say: “Thank you, this was nice.”

Rey had hoped to hear the word ‘delicious’ or something of the sort, but she would settle for ‘nice’.

“How was your first night in the tiny house?” she asked politely while she started doing the dishes. “Did you manage to get some sleep?”

He shook his head honestly, and Rey wondered what was troubling him so.

“Too much noise from the rain?” she guessed.

Once more he shook his head. “No, that’s actually quite nice, but I’ve just…” He paused and tried to look for the right words. His lip seemed to tremble. “A lot on my mind.”

“It can help to talk about it,” Rey offered, still with her hands in the water.

As he was quiet, she wondered if he was thinking or just without words. Maybe she had to ask more questions in order to get him to talk.

“I noticed your car is gone. Did you park it elsewhere?”

“No, I sold it,” he replied. “At least with the money I can pay Amilyn.”

Rey was surprised that he called Madame Holdo by her first name. There had to be some history there.

“How come you’re on a first name basis with her? I take care of her house all the time and I still call her Madame.”

For once, he didn’t stay quiet, but he explained: “As a child, she used to be my neighbor. We lived in an expensive neighborhood out of town, and she had a large mansion as well. She was always nice to me. When she left about twelve years ago to come here, she said that if ever I wanted a place of my own, I was welcome to stay in one of the tiny houses.”

“Took you quite a long while to take her up on that offer,” Rey remarked. “How come?”

She dried her hands and turned towards him, seeing how he was looking at the counter instead of her while he spoke.

“I had never expected to have to take her up on it, to be honest. But yesterday and the day before a lot of things happened. Lost my job, lost my apartment, lost everything. The only reason I sold my car was because I needed the money. It was all I had left.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that, Armitage,” Rey said empathically. “If you need a hug or anything, let me know.”

He looked at her for a moment as though she’d said something foul, and she gulped.

“I mean, obviously the choice is yours. But what happened that you lost everything so quickly?”

He sighed. “It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got all the time in the world,” Rey replied, pointing to the comfortable couch that stood in the corner of the room.

As he nodded and got up from the stool to move to the couch, Rey breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this would be the first step towards helping him.

+++

Her couch had quite a few pillows, and he had his arms wrapped around one as he began his story.

For once he didn’t hesitate. It seemed like he’d made up his mind to tell her, and as she sat by his side, she pulled up her legs and wrapped her arms around them.

“What you need to know is that I was born a bastard to my father. He was rich, and had several servants living in his household, including a young kitchen maid, who was my mother. His wife, the woman who I have called mother all my life, was upset that he had cheated on her, but she didn’t mind it enough to divorce him. During my childhood and later on, they reminded me plenty of times that I was an accident, and they’ve always held me to impossible standards.”

“I’m so sorry,” Rey said softly, but he glanced at her with a strict gaze.

“Please don’t interrupt me,” he told her, and she quickly nodded.

“Sorry.”

He needed his focus in order to tell his story well – and he couldn’t do that if she made him forget where he was going.

“My father used to work for The Empire, a law firm, but switched to The First Order when it became bigger here in the UK.”

Rey’s head jerked up at the mention of “The First Order”, and wanted to interrupt him, but couldn’t.

He had noticed her sudden movement though, and looked at her in confusion. “What?”

“My ex used to work for The First Order. Or still does – I’m not sure.”

Hux frowned. “What? Who?”

Rey gulped. “Haven’t spoken to him in years though, used to be a pretty good lawyer, or that’s what he always told me. But he was ruthless and we didn’t agree on our way of life, so we broke up. His name is Kylo Ren.”

Now Hux was the one whose mouth dropped. “Seriously?” he asked. “You were together with Kylo Ren?”

“You worked with him?” Rey asked, surprised by how small the world always turned out to be.

“Not just with him – _for_ him,” Hux continued, an annoyed frown on his face. “He’s part of the reason I’m in this mess now. I’m not sure it’s wise to continue this story if you have history with him.”

“No, no, please do!” Rey tried to assure him. “That was four years ago – we haven’t spoken since and I have no intention of going back to him.”

He looked her over for a few moments, but eventually nodded.

“What’s also very important to know is that my father started training me for helping out in the law firm when I was twelve years old. My summer holidays were filled with learning all sorts of legal texts, so that by the age of eighteen, I was an assistant to my father as a paralegal – never even having gone to any legal school.”

“That’s kind of amazing,” Rey remarked, but he shook his head.

“Not amazing at all. Because now I’m without a job and without a grade – and that’s scary.”

She nodded, understanding why that was a source of stress.

“I helped my father crack some big cases, and some other lawyers too, including Kylo Ren, before he became CEO. He was insufferable and after his promotion, he didn’t hesitate to remind me that he was my superior at every chance he got. He only got to that spot because our former CEO, Snoke, got involved in a white-washing scandal. But one case went a little wrong, and my father and Kylo Ren threw me under the bus as the one responsible for their loss. My father pushed to get me fired, and Kylo followed without questioning it, and I’ve lost my honor, my job and my apartment.”

He let out a deep sigh, but Rey frowned.

“How did you lose your apartment?”

“Oh, yes…” Hux realized he hadn’t sketched the situation fully yet. “My father owned it – he has a lot of apartments in the city. He wants nothing to do with me because ‘I’ve brought nothing but shame to my family since the day I was born,’ – so by the time I got home to pick up my stuff, he’d already had his handyman change the lock and key to my own door, and I just took my car and left before he’d take that away from me too. I sold my car, below-price, I must add, just to have enough money to live here.”

Rey looked at him sadly.

“How about your friends? Can’t they help you in some way?”

He was perplexed as he looked at her. He couldn’t recall having a single friend in his life.

“I don’t have any friends,” he said honestly, looking away from her.

She shifted in her seat and moved closer to him, linking her arm with his as she softly said: “You have one now. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of you here.”

Hux’s heart beat a little faster. It was more kindness than he’d ever experienced or expected. When she rested her head on his shoulder, he felt some of the gloom disappear, and he closed his eyes as he rested his own chin against her hair. Maybe it wasn’t the end of his life after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will try to post one chapter per day! :-) They're all finished so it shouldn't be too hard!


	3. Shopping Spree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey takes Hux shopping at a thrift store for the first time in his life...

Rey found out that Hux really had nothing but the clothes on his back and some underwear he’d bought at Tesco’s before he’d headed to his tiny house. The next day, she showed him the bike shed and told him that they had three bikes which everyone was free to use.

Though the bikes were old, they still rode like a charm as they headed to the town center on them, and Rey promised to help Hux pick out the clothes he would need.

“You need something really warm, since winter is coming, also warm nightclothes, something sporty, and something comfortable for indoors.”

Hux followed her through the street, and while his eyes were drawn to the fancier boutiques, she headed into a thrift store that didn’t even seem vintage.

When they opened the door and a charming little bell rang to alert their presence, Rey looked at him to see his expression, she noticed almost immediately that he had his nose pulled up into a sneer.

Before they moved further, he took ahold of her elbow and whispered: “I’m not this poor!”

Rey rolled her eyes. “A common misconception. You don’t need to be poor to buy from a shop like this one. Do it for the environment. And I’m not asking you to get your underwear or such from here. Some of this stuff has never been worn, and we might find you a nice sweater or something.”

He was still sneering as he followed her further into the store. “This smells like dead people.”

“It doesn’t,” she argued with him. “And if it makes you feel any better, I’ll wash it for you before you have to wear it. I’ve got a good fabric softener.”

As he followed her closely, he asked: “Do you buy from here?”

“Yes,” she replied. “In fact, the coat I’m wearing right now came from here.”

As he leaned into her and sniffed, he remarked: “Alright, it doesn’t smell like dead people.” He sniffed again. “Roses?”

She hummed.

“Let’s see if we can find some sweaters and shirts here.” As she started browsing the racks with the men’s clothing, Hux did the same, using a single finger to move the shirts, almost as though he was afraid of catching a disease.

As Rey saw a ridiculous orange crop top for men on the rack, she pulled it out and showed it to him.

“Maybe your new style?” she joked, earning her a dryly lifted eyebrow in return.

But as she put it away again, she noticed how he did have a small smile on his face.

“I don’t like orange,” he admitted.

“Hate to break it to you, but it’s sort of your hair color.”

“Don’t like it much either.”

“I think it’s beautiful,” she replied in a determined tone. “I think plenty of people are jealous they don’t have a natural hair color that’s as beautiful.”

He hadn’t thought of it like that before, and as Rey pulled out a simple black shirt, he looked at it for a moment, seeing nothing about it that seemed off.

She held it in front of him to see if it was long enough, but it seemed to be.

“We can try this one,” she said. “Looks new.”

“It does,” he agreed begrudgingly. Maybe she wasn’t completely wrong about this place. “Two quid,” he read, surprised by that.

Though there was plenty of old stuff and things that were unfashionable, every now and then stuff seemed to be just right.

By the time he left he had three shirts, including a gray one and a dark green one, the latter he was quite pleased about.

“What’s your favorite color?” Rey wondered.

“Green,” he replied.

“I figured from the way your eyes lit up when I held up that shirt.”

He smiled. Rey was great company. He’d seldom felt this at ease with anyone, and he’d only known her for a little over a day.

They left the thrift store to go to some of the cheaper stores, where they got him some gloves and a scarf, and they tried looking for a nice winter jacket for him in the discount section.

They found a gorgeous woolen trench coat for him. The gray really brought out the color in his eyes, and Rey was admiring him for quite a long while as he tried it on.

“Why is this discounted so much?” Hux wondered. “It can’t be 80 percent off without a good reason, can it?”

“Ah!” Rey spotted the mistake. “It’s missing buttons. Look!” As she took one of the buttons that was still attached, she pulled it a little bit, and it nearly came right off then and there. As she put her hands inside his pockets while he was still wearing the jacket, he felt his cheeks burn because of it, and she pulled out another button.

“Darnit. Seems like it’s missing a few. But no worries, we can get a nice set of buttons for a quid for this jacket, and then I’ll attach them myself so they won’t come off as easily.”

He would be happy with that. The jacket was very warm and looked sleek – and it hardly cost anything. He also bought a pair of jeans – his first, he admitted to a stunned Rey – and a jogging suit.

They got socks for him – including a pair of super-warm ones.

“You’ll thank me later,” Rey told him as she put them in the shopping basket, and finally they went into some shoe stores.

“You can’t wear your black leather lace-up shoes where we live. It gets muddy, and your feet will freeze off in winters. You need something very warm and comfortable. Boots are ideal, I suppose. That’s what Finn and Poe wear.”

“What do you wear when it gets cold?” he asked her.

“I got high rain boots for when it’s very wet and slippery outside – and snow boots for when it gets really cold!”

Rey snapped her fingers. “You don’t have a good rain coat.”

“But I have a coat!” he quickly said, not sure they could carry more.

“No, that’s fine. We’ll get you a poncho, just in case. Storage wise there’s nothing better to have than a good poncho, and you can wear it over whatever coat you have to stay warm in winters.”

He could agree to that, and while they went to three different shoe stores, they didn’t find the right type of shoes – and when they did, they were too expensive and Rey told him to put them down whenever he was holding any that cost hundreds of quid.

He did find a pair of sneakers that was cheaper, and once they bought it, they were carrying about four bags on them and were eager to go home.

“Chicken curry?” Rey proposed, and Hux looked around them as they mounted their bike, expecting to see a restaurant she was talking about.

“At home,” she added. “Want to join me for chicken curry?”

He was feeling some guilt in the pit of his stomach.

“You’ve done so much for me already, I can’t just eat at your expense every evening.”

“Can you handle cooking for me tomorrow?” she asked, and he gulped.

“I eh… I’m not a great cook – but I should be able to come up with something.”

She smiled. “I’m looking forward to it already!”


	4. Becoming Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux opens up to Rey - but not as much to others...

Hux still wasn’t entirely at ease while he sat in Rey’s tiny home, but when she asked him to do the dishes so she could start sowing the buttons on his new jacket after they’d eaten their chicken curry, he did so without complaint.

It was easier when he was being tasked to do something, it gave him purpose.

As he put the plates and cutlery away, he realized Rey really only had the bare essentials. No more than six plates, six glasses, six mugs in her cupboard. There wasn’t room for much more either. And it wasn’t like she’d bought everything in a set. The glasses were all different – some with drawings on them like she’d gotten them for free buying Nutella or something of the sort.

Her pots and pans were never of the same brand, but regardless, they seemed sturdy, and often quite old as well. Old or not, her cooking tasted amazing.

When he had cleaned up the kitchen as decently as he could, he sat on the stool next to hers and looked at her as she sewed on the buttons.

“Where did you learn to do that?” he asked curiously.

“In the orphanage. We often had to make do with old clothes, and some of the caretakers were happy to teach us.”

“Orphanage?” Hux repeated. He knew she’d grown up in the system, but not that she’d grown up in an orphanage.

“Yeah, well, the caretakers themselves didn’t call it an orphanage – but it had been one for decades, and most locals continued to call it that way, even if most kids still had one or sometimes two parents who were still alive.”

“Are your parents dead?” Hux wondered.

“Yeah,” Rey replied, a small frown on her face as she focused on her sewing. “I was in the system before they died. They were addicts. Didn’t want me so they put me where I couldn’t be in the way to them.”

Hux’s heart ached.

“I know what that’s like,” he admitted. “My father put me in a boarding school at the age of four. And during holidays, he’d send me on all these camps, for hockey, tennis, horseback riding, you name it, if it existed, he sent me to it. Never mind if I was interested in gaining any of those skills, but I had to try my very best because if he learned I wasn’t the best, he’d be upset with me for the rest of summer.”

Rey was quiet as she looked at him. She’d stopped her sewing while he’d talked.

“Are you certain he wasn’t upset with you regardless of how you performed?”

Hux was quiet as he considered that, then he tilted his head and nodded.

“I suppose you’re right. He never was happy with me. He just needed an excuse for his anger, I suppose.”

Rey sighed. “I’m so sorry for you.”

“I’m sorry for you!” he quickly said. “You’re probably the nicest person I’ve ever met in my life, and I don’t really understand how you ended up the way you are.”

Though it was a compliment, her heart was also broken at the confession that he’d never met anyone nicer.

“You’re a bit older than me though, aren’t you?” she asked.

“I’m thirty-two,” he replied honestly, and she raised an eyebrow.

“Really? I’d given you a few years younger.”

He nodded. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-four,” she replied. “So we’re eight years apart.”

“I’m not saying you look older, but you feel older. Wiser,” he replied. “Maybe like… like a mom of sorts.”

Rey chuckled. “Great, that’s what every girl loves to hear,” she teased him. “I’ll take it as a compliment, because I have no idea what a mom is supposed to behave like, not from experience.”

“Same,” he said. “But you’re cooking, sewing… Taking me out to go shopping! And you know a lot. About life skills, not just trivia that no one needs.”

Rey was blushing a little. It was true that she’d learned how to take care of herself at a very young age. It was a very useful skill to have.

When there were a few short taps on the door, she noticed how Hux froze completely – or in his case, he straightened his back, almost as though he was afraid his father was about to walk in.

Rey had recognized the tapping though, and called out: “Come in, Rose!”

When Rose entered and saw Hux sitting there, she seemed quite surprised. She hadn’t spoken to Rey since their new neighbor had arrived, but could see that Rey was working hard on sewing buttons to a man’s coat. How Rey had ended up helping their newest neighbor, Rose could not say.

“Hi!” Rose said, and Hux just briefly nodded at her before he cast his gaze away again.

With him not even looking at her, Rose looked at Rey with a raised eyebrow, as though she was wondering what he was even doing in her home.

Rey shook her head briefly, as a signal that this wasn’t the time to talk about that sort of thing, and Rose cut to business: “So, I just wanted to let you know that our honey’s been selling faster than other years, and I only have about a dozen pots left at this moment. I know you usually use some in your bakes, and was wondering if you wanted me to keep a few to the side for you before I sell them all?”

Rey hesitated. “I still have half a pot left, but I guess it wouldn’t harm to buy an extra one, just in case. I don’t think I’ll get around to using more than one this winter – chocolate is much more in demand, if I’m honest.” Rey turned to Hux. “Would you like to buy some honey? It’s from our own property, very fresh, very delicious.”

He seemed to consider it, then nodded.

“Yes, please,” he said.

“Great!” Rose said. “It’s fifteen pounds a pot, I’ll drop by tomorrow with a pot for each of you.”

As Rose looked at Hux, then back at Rey, then at Hux again, she shook her head and decided to leave. “See you tomorrow!”

“Bye, Rose!”

As Rose left the house again, Rey put down her sewing work and looked at Hux.

“Are you scared of Rose?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No,” he replied immediately, a little insulted.

“Well I wasn’t able to tell,” she teased him. “You completely closed off there. Why’s that? Does she threaten you?”

Hux was frowning. “I don’t like strangers,” he explained. “I don’t trust them.”

Rey rolled her eyes before she continued her sewing work.

“Rose is your neighbor, and one of the loveliest people you’ll ever meet. You have no reason not to trust her, but you do have to be nice to her.”

Hux was quiet as he took that in.

“You’ve been quite rude the night we all came to visit you. We wanted to welcome you into our neighborhood and you slammed the door on us – quite literally.”

“I had other things on my mind than some strangers who probably only wanted to gossip about me,” Hux defended himself rather harshly.

Rey tilted her head as she looked at him. “Is that how you think of me? As a girl that just wants to gossip about you the moment you’re out of my house?”

He opened his mouth, then closed it again as he turned quite pale in the face, seeming afraid now that he’d said something wrong.

“No, I… I hope not,” he replied, a little shaken, and Rey looked at him empathically.

“Hux,” she said in a softer tone, sighing. “I’m not upset with you. I’m just trying to understand you.”

As she looked back into his eyes, she saw that there were tears building in them, and she didn’t really understand why.

“Hey,” she said in an even softer tone, putting her hand on his. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No,” he replied, trying to hold back a sob. “I don’t know.”

As he sniffed, Rey got up from her seat and put the jacket to the side before she took both of his hands and forced him to stand up as well. He was almost a head taller than her and as she looked up at him, she took a deep breath.

“Breathe with me,” she urged him, and she noticed how he obediently took a deep breath, the tears in his eyes not fully gone yet, but at least his breathing calmed down a bit. His hands were shaking a little, and Rey recognized it. Finn had been like that in the past.

“Since when have you had panic attacks?” she wondered softly once he’d cooled down a bit and they just stood there holding hands.

“What?” he seemed not to understand the question.

“You know, the crying and the idea that something’s terribly wrong even though it’s just you and me, sitting here in a tiny house, becoming friends.”

Those last two words shook him for a brief moment, and Rey could see he was having trouble taking that in.

“You’ve had friends before, haven’t you?” Rey asked, her tone a little worried now as she realized that maybe that explained his strange behavior.

“Not really,” he answered honestly. “I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone as much about my life as I told you.”

“And I don’t suppose you ever went to a psychologist or something either?”

“No,” he replied.

“But do you recognize that sort of moment you just had, where you were crying?”

He nodded. “Yes. At work I sometimes felt similar, when I got criticized. But I was able to hide it better. In fact, I think this is the first time I haven’t been able to hide it.”

His hands were trembling a little firmer again, and tears were building up once more.

“I think I know why,” Rey said sweetly, smiling at him. “It’s because you’re opening up, and that’s one of the hardest things in life to do. May I give you a hug?”

He only needed a moment before he nodded his approval and she wrapped her arms around his torso and held him close.

He in return embraced her as well, following her gentle breathing as he tried to calm himself.

They hugged for minutes, and Rey didn’t break apart before she said: “Feels nice, huh?”

He nodded. “Yes,” he replied honestly.

“I don’t suppose you had many hugs in your life?” she asked.

“No, I suppose not,” he replied honestly. He remembered none.

“Whenever you want one, all you need to do is ask. And I bet that if you’re nice to Rose, Poe and Finn, maybe one day they’ll give you a hug too.”

He could not imagine himself ever on the receiving end of so many hugs, and so he kept quiet. He did not fully understand what Rey was talking about, but all he knew was that it felt nice being in Rey’s arms, and it released the stress that had been building the past few days.


	5. The Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey prepares a surprise for Hux...

In the days that followed, Rey guided Hux around the domain a bit more. She showed him the pond where Poe and Finn sometimes went fishing, the fire pit where they often hung out on cold evenings, Holdo’s house and the kitchen where she baked cupcakes. (And Hux helped by putting over a hundred paper wrappings in the tin cans while she prepared cupcakes for a party.) She showed him Rose’s beehives and their garden where they grew a lot of food all year around. They found Poe chopping some wood by his house, and while he greeted Hux quite warmly, Hux couldn’t say more than a very cold and distant “hello” back. When Beebee-ate escaped from Poe’s house and ran towards Rey and Hux, happily jumping around them, Hux kept his hands even fiercer in his pockets.

It seemed he wasn’t a dog-lover either, though he didn’t keep his eyes off of Beebee-ate at the same time.

In the moments where Hux wasn’t with her, Rey did have some explaining to do. Rose ambushed her about Hux and the time she’d been spending with him – wanting to know more.

Rey explained that she wanted to be discrete because their relationship was fragile, and that he had been through a lot and had trouble trusting people. When Rose asked how she could help, Rey just told her that she had to be patient and kind, and hopefully Hux would come to trust people on his own. He was like a frightened animal in a way, and though he seemed quite loyal to her, the opposite seemed true for everyone else.

Rose spread the word to Finn and Poe, and they in turn tried to be polite whenever they saw Hux outside, greeting him warmly with a “Hi Hux!” – but usually just getting a quick nod or glance in reply and then having the privilege of watching a tall ginger man taking bigger steps in order to get away from them.

Hux waited inside his house and looked out the windows to see if Rey was home yet. The day before, she had asked him if he trusted her. He’d said “yes” and then she’d asked him for a 100 quid. He’d given it immediately, not even reluctantly, but now he was curious why she’d even asked such a question and what she was doing.

He’d seen her leave on her bicycle, then he’d seen Poe leave in his pick-up truck an hour later – and when Poe came back another hour later, Rey was sitting by his side and they got Rey’s bike down from the back of the truck.

Worried that she might have fallen and injured herself or anything of the sort, he left the house to see if he could help, but Rey seemed fine, laughing and cheerful as she parked her bike and then suddenly saw Hux standing there.

“No, no peeking!” Rey said warmly, taking him by the arm and pulling him away from the pick-up truck.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly so that Poe couldn’t hear. “For a moment I was afraid you’d had an accident.”

Moved by those words, Rey squeezed his arms.

“Nothing of the sort. I’m going to need some time to prepare your surprise though. Maybe Poe can show you how to chop some wood for winter? You’re going to need it when it starts getting a lot colder. Your supply is running low.”

Though he wasn’t eager to socialize with Poe, the man seemed to have heard, for he was suddenly standing by their side.

“Don’t worry, Hux. We’ve all had to learn at some point. Do you mind if I call you Hux? I never asked, but Armitage is such a long name.”

“I don’t mind,” he replied, before his lips curled up into a small smile and he added: “Dameron.”

Poe narrowed his eyes, then chuckled. “Fair enough. I’m honored you remembered my last name.”

“It’s on your mailbox,” Hux said honestly, and Poe chuckled again as he dragged Hux away from the truck and closer towards his own house, and Rey set about preparing the surprise for Hux.

+++

For the first five minutes or so, Hux stood about awkwardly as Poe demonstrated how to chop wood, explaining how he could make sure he wouldn’t chop himself in the leg.

He was paying attention as well as he could, but when he tried the first time, he didn’t quite manage, and Poe gave him several more pointers, trying two, three, four times until he got it right.

But once he did, he didn’t slip up again, working hard to chop wood for the winter, and they filled up not just Poe’s wheelbarrow, but Finn’s as well.

“You’ve got plenty of space underneath your tiny house to store it. And autumn is a great time to check for wood and branches in the forest. Maybe we should look for some kindling too. I think Rey’s going to need some more time.”

Hux was wondering what on earth she was doing, and though he was a little anxious about it, he also trusted her enough not to freak out about it.

Obediently, he followed Poe into the forest, Beebee-ate barking in the distance as he rushed through the bushes not too far from them.

“He’s probably chasing rabbits,” Poe said with a smile, but Hux just nodded.

Poe showed him how to gather a whole lot of twigs and such and how to keep it together with nothing but strings so it was easy to carry.

They headed back towards the domain three times, and they were taking many hours, until it was already dark and Hux was starting to get hungry.

Poe didn’t push for small-talk, instead giving Hux the time to get acquainted to his presence. It seemed like not talking was helping in making Hux feel at ease, and he also noticed that the ginger man responded well to small praise if he did something right or picked up on a new skill.

They were about to head back for their fourth time when they heard Rey shout. “Poe! Hux!”

Beebee-ate barked and darted off in Rey’s direction, and Poe patted Hux’s shoulder.

“Let’s get all this kindling to your place. You can come and get the wood for underneath your cabin tomorrow. I’ll put a sail over it so it won’t get wet in case it rains.”

By the time they arrived back at the domain, Rey was nowhere to be seen, and Hux was a little confused as he looked around.

“She’s probably waiting in your house,” Poe explained.

As Hux stepped away to see what she was up to, he reminded himself to thank Poe.

“Thank you,” he said as he looked Poe in the eye. “For teaching me these things.”

“Anytime, Hux!” Poe said warmly. “If you need any help at all, just ask!”

Hux smiled briefly before he rushed towards his house.

+++

Entering his house, the first thing he noticed was the smell of a wonderful vegetable soup reminding him of how hungry he was.

The second thing he noticed were the curtains. Where they had been bland and beige before, they were now green – with a lighter green leaf-pattern on them – and they made the entire place a lot warmer.

“Oh!” He was pleasantly surprised by this and realized now why it had taken Rey some time. As he went to the curtains and felt the fabric, he also found it to be much softer than his old curtains.

“This is wonderful!” he said gratefully, glad she had done this for him. He hadn’t even realized it was something that would make such a difference to him, but it did. It made his house more of a home. “You remembered my favorite color!”

“Of course I did,” she replied warmly. “Come and get your soup now!”

As she poured them both a bowl, he sat down by her side at the small wooden table, a pleasant feeling in his gut as he ate the wonderful meal and enjoyed the sight of his tiny home a little bit more.

“Thank you so much,” he said softly when he was nearly finished eating. “You seem to know me better than I know myself. I would have never come up with buying this for myself.”

Rey was glad to hear it.

“There’s still another surprise,” she teased him.

“There is?” he asked, his eyebrows raised.

“Yes. Remember how a week ago you told me you liked spending a lot of time in your loft because you felt safe and warm there?”

He nodded slowly as he ate his soup.

“Well, I’ve made it a little bit better as well,” she said proudly.

Hux took his bowl of soup and drank all that was left in one go, spilling a bit on his chin and quickly wiping it away with a napkin before he got up and headed towards his loft. Rey was right behind him, and when he climbed up the stairs and saw what she had done, he gasped.

“Rey!” he exclaimed, immediately crawling up there.

His dull mattress with the white sheets and rough brown blankets seemed gone. It wasn’t – not really, the mattress was still underneath it all, but he had a new comforter, as well as new bed linen – green as well – and no longer as rough and old as before. Better yet, there seemed to be a dozen pillows on all sides of his mattress. Some had covers that were just green linen, others were velour and satin and even softer and furrier fabrics. As he crawled onto the mattress, Rey was right behind him, joining him and watching as he touched each of the pillows and wrapped his arms around an especially furry one. As Rey realized it was the soft faux fur one – the softest one of the bunch, she smiled. It was what she had hoped his reaction would be.

Looking around, he also noticed the old night light was gone, and instead there were some LED-strips that ran along the wall, illuminating the loft around him beautifully from all sides. How she’d done all this in a few hours, he did not know.

As he relaxed in the pillows, Rey looked at him with a proud smile, and his eyes were kind as he looked at her.

“This is the best gift ever,” he said softly, and she chuckled.

“I must remind you that you paid for everything yourself. I’m afraid you’re not getting anything back from that hundred quid you gave me. Every last bit of it was spent on pillows and fabrics.”

Hux’s eyes lit up. “You made all these pillowcases yourself? And the curtains?”

Rey nodded. “Yes. That’s what took me so long. I may have rushed some of the inside overlocking.”

Impressed and moved, he held out his hand to her, and when she took it, he brought her hand to his mouth, gently kissing it.

“Thank you,” he replied. “I mean it, this is literally everything I never knew I wanted.”

“You’ve been a bit stressed lately. I hope this will help you chill out a bit more,” Rey explained. “And you haven’t really made this your home yet. Which is fine, in case you don’t want to stay, but I just want you to feel safe here.”

Moved by her words and all the attention she was giving him, he patted the space by his side as a sign she should lay down as well, and when she did and lay close next to him, he felt very warm and safe indeed.

“I’m afraid you’ll never get rid of me if I lay here too long,” she said softly, not entirely certain if she should be up in the loft with him.

As he turned towards her and looked at her through half-lidded eyes, she felt a nervous flutter in her stomach.

She liked him more than she dared to admit to anyone, and when he leaned in to kiss her, she didn’t stop him at all. She was tired from all the work she’d done that day, and she welcomed this affection and attention.

He wasn’t a bad kisser at all, and when they broke their first kiss, she smiled warmly at him, glad to see he was smiling too.

He went in for another kiss, and she let him, putting her hands in his hair, realizing it was softer than she’d imagined, and she let out a small moan as she realized his kisses were much better than any she remembered, so much gentler and sweeter than all the others she’d had before.

He’d brought one hand to her knee, and she had felt that in all the crawling around, her long skirt had slid up a bit, and he was tracing the bare skin underneath. “You’re so soft,” he whispered against her lips, and she blushed before he kissed her again.

He really seemed to like soft things, but before she could give that more thought, she became aware that his hand was sliding up the inside of her leg, and she wondered for a moment where he’d stop. Mesmerized and drugged by her own affection and lust for him, she realized that he didn’t – and suddenly his fingers were stroking her through her panties, and she only realized when he hit_ that_ spot what he was doing.

“Hux,” she gasped, pulling apart from his kiss and pushing him back a bit, and he immediately withdrew his hand. “You… you’re going a little too fast for me.”

She saw in an instant how his eyes widened and the slightest hint at panic in his gaze.

“I… I can be slower,” he promised immediately, gently touching her cheek before he looked at her lips and seemed determined to continue.

She gently pushed him further away from her, forcing him to lay on his back while she was the one leaning over him.

“We shouldn’t go this fast,” she told him. “I like you – a lot – too much to rush into this.”

He gulped. “I’m sorry,” he apologized immediately. “I read the signals wrong. I thought you wanted sex.”

Rey turned crimson in the face. “Well… eh… I’m sorry I gave that impression. You do turn me on but… What exactly gave you the impression I wanted sex, if I may ask?”

“You put so much work into this, and then you came here into my loft with me, and eh… When we kissed I figured I could repay you with sex.”

Rey frowned for a brief moment. Was that really how his mind worked?

There was more though, and he continued honestly: “And you kissed me back and touched my hair and your breathing was… Well… I don’t know how to describe it. Needy?”

Rey gulped.

“You’re not entirely wrong,” she admitted. “You excited me, so I suppose my breathing was a bit needy, as you said. But I would never do something nice and then expect you to have sex with me in return. Sex is not a currency for doing nice things – I mean, certainly not at this point in our relationship.”

He nodded slowly, though Rey had the impression he didn’t fully understand it.

“Do you know what I want right now?” she wondered, and as he shook his head innocently, she figured a straight answer would be best. “I want to chill and cuddle with you. And perhaps a few kisses before I leave your little house all hot and bothered.”

She was smiling playfully as she told him this, and he nodded his approval.

“That would be very nice,” he agreed, and as he opened his arms for her, she embraced him tightly, and he held her close.

Every now and then they kissed, and they touched each other’s hands and looked into each other’s eyes, not going further than that until eventually Rey rested her head on his chest and they just lay there until midnight passed.

Exhausted, but happy, he felt the rise and fall of her breath, until she drifted off to sleep, and he decided to join her.

+++

It was the middle of the night when Rey woke by his side, the lights still on, truly giving her a beautiful sight as she looked at Hux, asleep among all the green pillows. It brought out his hair beautifully. They hadn’t even changed into more comfortable clothes, and Rey had woken up due to the fact her legs had gotten a bit cold.

She couldn’t stay. She didn’t want to be caught sneaking out of his house in the morning, and so she slowly crawled over to the stairs and made her way there, the wood creaking a bit.

She was almost down when she heard Hux’s voice, deep with sleep: “Rey?”

Crawling up the stairs again, enough for him to see her face, she softly replied: “I’m heading home, sweetie. Sleep well!”

“You don’t have to,” he told her.

“I know. Another time, perhaps. If you invite me over for a sleepover.” She winked at him. “I miss my nightgown.”

He smiled at that, his eyes hardly open as he was still very tired.

“Alright, sleep tight!”

As he lay back down again, Rey pushed the buttons to turn off all the lights in his tiny home, and when she walked out his door, the cold of November woke her fully again.

Taking a deep breath and looking around the domain, she saw Holdo’s house in the distance, and how some lights were on.

Seemed like the lady of the house and property had returned. She was curious to see the bond between Hux and her, since she had known him as a child even.


	6. The Lady of the Domain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is curious to learn more about Armitage's past...

Rey didn’t need to wait long. The following morning, as she went to say hello to Holdo and to book her kitchen for a few more days that week, Holdo seemed surprised to see it was her.

“I had expected Hux. I sent him an e-mail to drop by this morning. Not sure if he’s read it yet.”

Rey hadn’t spoken to Hux yet that morning, and she hadn’t often seen him occupied with his phone to check his mails or anything of the sort.

“I’m sure he’ll be over once he sees it.”

Holdo accompanied Rey to the parlor – a beautiful, old room, full of bookcases and small and cozy sofas around a coffee table. The fireplace was already lit, and Rey immediately checked some of the plants that she’d watered over the weeks. They were still alive, and the soil wasn’t too dry yet.

“How was your trip?” Rey asked.

As Holdo began telling her of all the things she’d seen and done, she asked Rey along to the kitchen where she prepared some coffee, and by the time she was done and had headed to the parlor again and started pouring Rey a cup, the bell rang.

“That must be Hux!” Holdo said, Rey’s cup still in her hand, and Rey got up instead.

“I’ll go and get him!” she said warmly, and she went to open the door.

When she realized Hux was wearing his formal business uniform again, she was a little confused by the choice. He’d worn his newer, comfier clothes lately, and she wondered what had given him the idea that he needed to dress up like this to speak to Madame Holdo.

Confused, but simultaneously delighted to see her, he smiled.

She couldn’t help but blush as she returned that smile. Part of her wanted to kiss him, but that seemed like a bad idea with Holdo just around the corner.

“Come on in,” she said warmly. “We’ve made some coffee, if you’d like some.”

“I do like coffee,” he admitted, following her in.

When he entered the parlor, he politely extended his hand as he approached Madame Holdo, but she got up and hugged him tightly instead.

Hux looked a little awkward as he tried to fit in her embrace and didn’t really know where to put his hands, and Rey chuckled at the sight.

“Oh Armitage!” Holdo took a small step back to look him over. “It has been so long since I’ve last seen you! I would ask you how you’ve been, but your mail was quite distressing to me. I’m so glad you came to me first.”

Rey sipped her coffee, curiously eyeing the two of them. She knew a lot, but she didn’t have the full story, and she wondered what Hux had said in his mail then.

Hux gulped, not really comfortable with the way in which Holdo was still holding onto his arms.

“I had no other idea what to do,” he admitted, and she put her hand over her heart as she empathically shook her head.

“Poor dear,” she said. “I was surprised you still remembered the offer, it was so long ago that I made it.”

“I don’t forget things like that,” he replied while she offered him a chair and he sat down while she made him some coffee.

“Milk? Sugar?”

“Just milk.”

“Have you been able to get any items from your apartment at all?” Holdo asked. “Has your father been in contact with you?”

“No,” Hux replied, his tone cold. If he was emotional about it, then he didn’t show it. “The message was clear. He doesn’t want anything to do with me, that’s why he changed the lock and key. And I’m not going to give him the pleasure of asking for his help.”

“But your things!” Holdo exclaimed, her eyebrows raised as she could not understand it so lightly. “Your entire life was in there.”

Hux shrugged, then shook his head. “Not really. There were clothes, and a big television and hundreds of books that I’d already read. But other than that I was quite Spartan in the way I lived. I didn’t have clutter.”

“That’s perfect for people who decide to live tiny,” Rey remarked. “I struggle with that sometimes. I see something cute – a small figurine or such – and then I want to buy it and I need to put it somewhere, but before you know it, your entire tiny house is full of junk.”

“Your tiny house isn’t messy,” Hux remarked. “It’s got character.”

Rey smiled, taking that as a compliment.

“Didn’t you keep the rock I gave you when you were thirteen?” Holdo asked.

“Rock?” Rey wondered.

Madame Holdo nodded eagerly. “I went on a cruise around the Mediterranean, and I’d picked up this wonderful geode which they’d split in two. It was black on the outside, but purple and gold on the inside. Because Armitage had taken care of my plants while I was absent, I gave him one half of the geode. That’s the first time I saw him smile.”

He was smiling again as she told the story, then said: “I kept it for many years. It went with me to boarding school, but when I was seventeen, my dad said that the cleaning lady threw it away.”

Holdo frowned, apparently worried.

“It obviously hadn’t been the cleaning lady,” Hux added, looking at Rey to explain this. “But that was the sort of man my father was. He just didn’t want me to hold sentimental value to anything, least of all a rock.”

“Oh, Armitage, I’m so sorry to hear that,” Holdo said, frowning because she was as frustrated as ever with Brendol Hux. “Your father is a horrible man!”

As Holdo got up from her seat and starting checking the drawers at her desk, she added: “He was furious whenever I dared to speak to you. I bet he was afraid I would call child services on him. He knew I didn’t agree with the way he treated you.”

“Why didn’t you?” Hux suddenly asked.

Holdo froze. “What?”

“Why didn’t you call child services?” he asked again, frowning now. “No one else knew as much as you.”

Rey had stopped drinking, her eyes wide as she looked from Hux to Holdo and back again. It was clear that he wanted to know this.

“I don’t know, Armitage. I was hoping your father would grow out of his horrible ways as he grew older. And he was powerful – and scary. The few times I confronted him I was afraid he was going to hurt me too. And I was afraid he would take it out on you. He was too rich – no one was going to be able to take you away from him, he’d pay to make sure they wouldn’t, and then you would be the one that got punished for it. I didn’t want to risk that.”

Hux nodded briefly as a sign that he understood, no longer frowning at her.

After she closed the drawer, she walked over to Hux again and offered him a black rock. As he took it from her and looked at the side that had been hidden in the palm of her hand, tears came to his eyes.

“The other half of the geode,” he said softly, touching it with both hands as he admired the reflection of the light in the gold and purple crystals inside the rock. He sniffed, tears falling freely now, and both Rey and Holdo were quiet.

Neither of them had expected such a big reaction to such a small rock, and Holdo softly said: “I want you to have it.”

Shaking with tears, he got up from his seat, and this time he was the one to embrace Holdo. The woman hugged him back, and as Rey was still watching, a little confused about what was going on, she saw the softest expression on Holdo’s face as she held him – almost one that was grieved with guilt.

It took a while before Hux calmed down enough to let go of her again, and Holdo offered: “You are welcome to stay as long as you like, of course.”

Hux nodded, wiping his tears away while he avoided their gazes.

“Is that all?” he asked, rather suddenly.

“Yes. I should be in town for another three weeks minimum. You should drop by again.”

Hux nodded. “I will,” he promised, before he headed out of the room again, not even looking at Rey, and she was frowning a little as he left and she heard the door fall closed behind him.

“You must find him a bit odd,” Holdo said immediately, and Rey looked at her again.

“Yes,” she admitted. “What was he like, as a kid?”

Holdo shrugged. “Even more odd than he is now. Incredibly shy, never making eye contact, brilliant, but bullied by his own father.” The older woman sighed. “I still sometimes wonder if I shouldn’t have called child services back then – but I don’t think it would have made the situation better for anyone.”

Rey gulped. “How bad was the abuse then, when he was young?”

Holdo shook her head. “I suppose only Armitage still knows – and his bastard father. From what I could tell, the majority of the abuse was psychological – but I bet some of it was physical as well. His father was a horrible man – the absolute worst – a savage in some ways, but elite in other ways. He was untouchable.”

“Rich people,” Rey muttered, annoyed by it all.

Holdo smiled. She wasn’t too poor herself, but she took no offense.

“He tried to control Armitage’s every move. When I asked Armitage after school if he wanted to earn some extra money by taking care of my plants, he did not dare say no to me. But I do think he enjoyed it – if only for the fact he could get away from his father. He was so young – and his look when I gave him the geode… I don’t think anyone had ever given him something he was even remotely interested in or mesmerized by.”

Rey smiled softly as she remembered how nicely he’d reacted to her own gift to him of the day before – even if he’d paid for it himself.

“I just hope his father stays out of his life now,” Holdo said. “He did something horrible when Armitage turned older.”

Rey gulped again. “What did he do?”

Holdo shook her head. “He didn’t let Armitage go to school. I think Armitage might not have been such a great student as Brendol had hoped, and it was too shameful to have his son be anything but the best of his class. And so for years, he was training Armitage how to be an assistant in The First Order – a bullshit law firm if you ask me.”

“Oh I agree,” Rey said with a small smile, remembering the bullshit Kylo Ren had put her through.

“After he was eighteen, Hux began working at The First Order, and while he was given a lot of work and responsibility, he was not given a professional education. So now he’s a 30-something adult with no degree, who has only gotten the experience to work in a law firm, in businesses where they’re renowned for only hiring folks with bachelors or masters. And without his former firm willing to put in a good word for him in case anyone would request a reference, he’s rather stuck.”

Rey felt only sorrier for Armitage after hearing that.

“How can we help him?” Rey asked. “I’ve been showing him around, but he’s horribly isolated and just… plain weird around people sometimes. He won’t look Poe or Finn in the eye, even if they’re super nice to him.”

Holdo shook her head. “I’m not sure. I think men scare him – maybe because of the way his father treated him, maybe because of other reasons too. But I think there might be more to his behavior.”

“More?” Rey asked, curious.

Holdo shook her head. “No, it’s not my place to say. I might be wrong, and I’m not a psychologist or anything of the sort. I’m just wondering if all his behavior is a result of all the abuse and lack of affection as a child, or if it’s something more… innate.”

Though she didn’t dare to voice it either, Rey felt like she understood.

“Before I knew of the abuse, I had a similar feeling,” she admitted. “Yet at the same time, if it’s what I think it is, I still don’t feel like he’s a really bad case.”

Holdo nodded. “Yes, I think so too. So maybe it’s just his problematic childhood – I don’t know.”

“I’ll help him,” Rey promised. “I’m not sure how yet, but I’ll be there for him when he needs me.”

The older woman smiled. “That’s nice of you, Rey. He could use a good friend. I don’t think he’s ever had one.”

+++

When Rey tapped his door, she heard a distant: “Come in, Rey!”

Not entirely certain how he’d known it was her, she stepped inside, not seeing him anywhere in his little kitchen or living area. She took off her shoes, leaving them next to his on the floor.

“I’m in the loft.”

Climbing up the stairs, she saw how he was lying on his stomach, the geode still in his hands.

“Are you okay?” Rey asked softly.

He looked tired and emotional, but still nodded.

“I had not imagined that house call to be so draining,” he admitted.

She climbed high enough to sit on the wood by the side of his bed, her head almost hitting the ceiling but not quite.

“Would you like a hug?” she offered, and when he nodded, she climbed into the bed by his side and wrapped her arms around him while he returned the favor.

Though he was the one in distress, Rey could not deny how much his embrace calmed her too.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Rey whispered, and he was quiet for what seemed like a minute.

Eventually, he said: “I’m not sure what’s there to say that will not hurt. And I’m not sure if it has any purpose repeating it.”

Rey thought about it. “Sometimes talking about the past can heal you – though I can’t entirely guarantee that it will. If anything, you shouldn’t dwell on it for too long. If you want, we can go and do something else? We could take the bikes into town, grab a cup of coffee and go shopping for our dinner?”

He smiled at her and leaned his forehead against hers, and she could only close her eyes and return that smile.

“I don’t know what I would do without you,” he admitted. “But I fear I would have been absolutely useless or already dead by now.”

“Dead? Your cooking isn’t that abysmal,” Rey replied in a joking tone. “I really liked that salad you made the other night.”

Hux smiled. “Well - I’m not saying my cooking would have killed me – but at least you’ve given me a reason to take it one day at a time – and though I’m not in a great place, these days with you have been amazing. I just fear what would happen if I didn’t have you, and that worries me. I can’t rely on people.”

“Sure you can,” Rey replied gently. “You must be able to make it through the day without me, that’s not a lie, but at the same time you shouldn’t feel bad about relying on me for emotional support. It’s completely normal to have friends that can help you with your life’s worries.”

“It’s not normal for me,” Hux sighed. “I’ve never had friends.”

“You do now,” Rey said with a smile. “At least one, and maybe more to come. Shall we go and do something with our day? As much as I like your loft, we have to go out there and join the real world, if only for a little bit.”

Hux returned her smile. “I don’t much like the real world.”

Rey scrunched her nose. “Me neither – but we must get some supplies.”

“Not coffee?”

“If you want coffee, we can get coffee too.”

“You said we would get coffee.”

“If that’s what gets you to join me, then we’ll get coffee too. Come now, before I change my mind and start kissing you instead.”

Hux chuckled. “You say that as though that’s a bad thing!”

Rey rolled her eyes and crawled towards the ladder. “You know what I mean, let’s go!”


	7. Neighborhood Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux and Rey are invited to a celebration...

The first weeks Hux had been at the property, everyone had given him his space, and some traditions had been put to the side as Rey had spent more time with Hux than with the others, but as Rose’s birthday approached, Finn had invited them both over for a winter-barbeque.

Finn was outside, throwing logs on the large bonfire near their tiny house, but he seemed awfully distracted. He didn’t notice Rey and Hux until they were practically standing next to him, and even then he still jumped.

“Is something on your mind?” Rey asked, noticing that Finn was tense.

Finn’s gaze was so troubled that Rey immediately realized it was very serious.

“Yes,” he replied. “I had an argument with Rose that left her crying. On her birthday. I’m feeling horrible – but probably not as much as Rose is.”

Rey patted his back gently. “Why don’t you go in there and talk it out with her? Hux and I can stay here for as long as you like – and if necessary, we’ll come back tomorrow. Do you want me to go and tell Poe?”

It was almost like Finn winced at the mention of that name. “I don’t want to call off the feast. We’d prepared so much and I don’t want to let it go to waste. Maybe I should just… leave and let you all party instead.”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t want that,” Rey tried to lift his spirits, but he seemed determined.

“I made this bed, now I’ve got to lie in it,” Finn sighed.

“What did you do that was so horrible?” Hux asked, immediately cutting to the chase and not bothering with pleasantries.

Finn gulped and shook his head. “I might as well say it, but… I think I’m not… straight.”

Rey’s eyes widened, and for a moment she didn’t know what to say.

Looking from Finn to his girlfriend and then back again, Hux seemed confused and frowned. “So you’re gay or bi?”

Finn actually appreciated Hux’s straightforwardness. “Gay.”

“How did you realize?” Rey wondered, trying not to be silent at this news, though it was a bit of a shock. “When?”

“I know that my feelings for Rose were different than her feelings for me. I love her – _so much_ – and I care for her in a way I’ve never been allowed to care for anyone before – but sexually I’m just…” He shook his head. “It’s just not what I want.”

“I’m sure she’ll respect that,” Rey offered. “At least you told her before anything happened, right?”

As Finn winced, Rey’s mouth dropped a little.

“Something happened? When?”

Finn gulped.

“Over a week ago, when Poe came back from a weekend of flying, I went to check up on Beebee-ate as I usually do and… Well… It’s private.”

Rey looked a little petrified. She’d known Poe was bisexual, but that something had happened between him and Finn was now blowing her mind.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Finn told her. “I know I messed up, and I shouldn’t have, but it’s the only way I could know for certain.”

Hux chuckled and shook his head, and Rey frowned as she gave him a stern gaze.

“What are you laughing about?” she demanded to know.

“Here I was thinking I was going to be the awkward one at this party,” he replied honestly, and Rey rolled her eyes.

“Forgive him,” Rey told Finn, but even he managed to smile.

“Nothing to forgive. I’m the one that made the biggest mistakes here.”

“I’ll go and talk to Rose,” Rey offered, and as Finn nodded, Hux remained with the young man who was in quite a large amount of distress.

When Rey was in Finn’s tiny home, Hux sat down on one of the tree stumps around the bonfire.

“So,” he said awkwardly. “How did you know you were into men?”

Finn knew how weird Hux could be sometimes, and so he wasn’t even surprised by the straightforwardness. Instead, he took it as a compliment that Hux trusted him enough to even ask something so personal.

“You just feel it,” Finn said softly. “Some longing – some belonging – in the pit of your stomach. I’m just surprised it took me so long to figure out. I always knew that I really liked Poe – best buddies style, you know…”

Hux didn’t know, and just remained quiet while Finn spoke.

“I just didn’t know that it was more until I was beginning to realize that something was missing in the relationship between Rose and I. We never fought, not even once. We were very good to each other, very understanding and such, but that’s just because we were great friends. I just regret not knowing it sooner. I mean, I’ve known Poe for seven years. If I’d been brave enough sooner to accept that maybe my first time was supposed to be with a man, and I shouldn’t wait for a woman… I don’t know. I messed up.”

“At least it’s good that you know now,” Hux offered, not certain how to give advice on this sort of thing. He knew very little of love himself.

“How about you and Rey?” Finn asked, desperate for a change of topic that could make him forget his own miserable choices.

Hux seemed reluctant to share, and looked back at the house to realize Rey was not about to help him on this one, and that he couldn’t ask her for advice either.

“We’re taking it slow,” he said.

Finn smiled at that. He hadn’t had any form of confirmation from Rey so far.

“But you’re taking it – at least.”

“In a way, yes,” Hux admitted. “I’m not great at reading other people – or myself, for that matter.”

“But you care for her?” Finn asked, just to make sure.

“More than I’ve ever cared for anyone,” Hux replied without a single moment of hesitation.

As Beebee-ate suddenly barked in the distance, then rushed their way and headed straight to Finn, Finn rubbed the little dog’s head before he went to Hux, wagging his tail, then straight back to Finn as he realized Hux wasn’t going to pet him at all.

Poe approached with a present for Rose, smiling politely.

“Hi Hux! Hi Finn!” While he usually went to shake the man’s hand or patted his back, he didn’t this time, and just sat down on a small stool by the fire. “Where are the ladies?”

Finn opened his mouth to reply, then turned to Hux and asked: “Could you… could you leave us alone for a moment?”

Hux wasn’t entirely certain where he was meant to go then, but nodded. “Of course,” he replied respectfully, walking back to his own tiny home.

Surely someone would come and get him for the barbecue later on?

+++

Hux waited in his own tiny house for hours, sometimes looking out the window, but seeing nothing in the distance. Eventually he heard Rey tap on the door, and he rushed to open it.

Rey was carrying a large bowl in her hands and let out a big sigh.

“May I come in? I brought you some food.”

Hux immediately opened the door, and Rey put the bowl on the counter.

“Guess we’re just eating vegetarian tonight. Finn felt bad about cancelling the barbecue, so he gave us some food to take home.”

As Hux looked in the bowl, he realized there was a bit of everything – some eggs, potato salad, pasta, rice, lettuce…

“We’re getting our carbs today,” he remarked dryly, and Rey sighed deeply again, forcing herself to smile.

Realizing that she looked exhausted, Hux left the food for what it was, and opened his arms to invite Rey in for a hug. When she walked into his arms, she cried softly into his sweater.

She needed a moment and Hux gave the top of her head a kiss while he hugged and rocked her. Eventually she was ready to talk about it. 

“I spoke to Rose for a long while… She’s so distraught. It’s like she’s grieving – again. She still wasn’t done grieving her sister, and now the bomb Finn dropped on her is causing her to feel once more like she’s lost the most important person in her life. I feel so sorry for her – but at the same time Finn is hardly the one to blame here. He just didn’t know himself well enough to shield her from the truth. And he still loves her.”

Hux patted the back of her head, not sure what to say.

“I cry for the both of them,” Rey said, wiping tears away. “And Poe somehow got mixed up in all of this. Apparently Finn went inside to talk about Beebee-ate, Poe was in a bit of a state of undress, and things went rather quickly after that. Poe’s now talking to Rose and Finn, hoping to save what he can so those two can catch some rest.”

“It’s a mess,” Hux replied, and Rey nodded.

“That’s life, I guess,” she sighed. “I’m glad I have you though. But I want to ask to make sure, you’re not gay?”

Hux laughed and shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

Rey broke their hug and took some plates for them, offering him one before they both scooped up some food.

“Finn had never been intimate before and Rose was his first. He kind of had a feeling after that that he didn’t like it as much as he should have. Have you ever been with a woman before?”

Hux nodded slowly.

“Yes.”

“Did you like it?” Rey wondered.

Hux blushed. “In some ways.”

Curiously, Rey raised her eyebrows, and Hux continued.

“It was a rather impulsive thing. A bit of a story, actually. I’m not exactly proud of it, but I’m still glad I had that night.”

As she nodded at him to continue while she ate, he took a deep breath.

“At work, there was this brilliant lawyer – Phasma – a ruthless and brutal competitor to my father within the company. She was absolutely amazing in court – fearless – impenetrable – and my father hated her once he realized she was better than him. When she’d been younger, he had condescendingly supported her in her career, but that turned into jealousy, until one day I heard her shout something from her office and I stormed in, finding my father with… well… a bit too touchy-feely.”

Rey grimaced. Everything she heard about this man made her hate him more.

“I stood there and stared at him, and he left. Phasma thanked me for coming and saving her, and asked me to meet her some place to talk about it after work. We went for a few drinks. She asked about my father. Like Holdo, she knew something was up between us – though at that age, I was twenty-five – the physical abuse had stopped many years ago.”

“Was the abuse ever sexual?” Rey wanted to know, but Hux immediately shook his head.

“No, thank heavens it wasn’t. Just punches and beatings,” he assured her, and though it still wasn’t pleasant to hear, Rey was glad to know what it had been.

“Phasma had been assaulted by him, but since he was so well-respected within The First Order, she couldn’t talk about it without killing her own career. She wanted to thank me for saving her, and wanted, in her own words, to heal from the trauma with a good shag.”

Rey frowned. That was a weird thing to ask, but she didn’t know this Phasma.

“I went to her apartment – we had sex – and it was pretty good, if I do say so myself. I really enjoyed it, but at the same time, I had no feelings for Phasma, not really.” He looked at Rey. “Not like I have feelings for you.”

She smiled warmly and reached out her hand to touch his.

“I have feelings for you too,” she assured him.

“How about you?” he asked, stuffing his face with some potatoes.

Rey frowned, not entirely certain what he meant.

“My eh… sex live?” she wondered.

As he nodded quickly, she gulped.

“Well, eh… I had a relationship with Kylo Ren, who you know, and we were sexually active for a few months before I broke up with him.”

It was a much shorter story than his, and he was still chewing on the same potatoes as she finished it.

Gulping it all down, he asked: “But there were feelings?”

Rey shifted in her seat. “Yes – but maybe for a version of him that he will never be, if that makes sense?” Noticing the way he narrowed his eyes in thought, she added: “I wanted him to choose me and my life, or to meet me in the middle, but he just wanted me to come and live in the city with him, to support him as some sort of… I don’t know… trophy wife. It was terribly physical, and though he was nice sometimes, he wasn’t really interested in exploring my view of the world. Even worse, he laughed with it. He saw this style of living as a sign of poverty. He wanted me to leave my friends behind. The fact that I didn’t want to move in with him made him say mean things, like I was still holding onto hippies and people who would never amount to much in life.”

Hux frowned at that. “Rude. I wouldn’t call Poe, Finn or Rose hippies.”

“But you do think they will never amount to much in life?”

As Hux turned red in the face, Rey glared at him for a moment, before she burst out laughing.

“I’m just joking!” she assured him, and he let out a relieved chuckle as well.

“Thank heavens!”

As Rey continued eating, Hux played with some pasta on his fork, before he admitted: “I have to say, my opinion on this lifestyle wasn’t great either. I thought everyone was just poor to live this way, but now I realize you’re quite… free!”

Rey smiled at that.

“I was living in a nice apartment, but it wasn’t relaxing. My neighbors made a lot of noise sometimes, and my best friends were my noise-cancelling earphones. I lived decently, with more status than most, and then… I lost all of it. And for a moment, I was quite distraught, but you really helped me get over that in no time at all. I mean, over the physical part of losing my stuff and such.”

“The emotional part must be harder,” Rey said softly, and he nodded in return.

“I was played,” Hux said briefly. “I was stupid – about so many things, and it cost me everything. I shouldn’t have trusted my father. How could I trust him, after everything I knew about him? I should have taken precautions, secured my things, and I shouldn’t have fucked up at work.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, but how did you fuck up so badly that it cost you your job?” Rey wondered. “What did you do at the First Order?”

“I was a legal assistant – basically an assistant to the lawyers. I drafted legal documents, did some file management, filed documents at the courts… A lot of paperwork. But sometimes, I could investigate a case and interview clients and such. According to Phasma, I was good at asking the questions that everyone else forgot, but that were useful to the case. But the mistake I made, was during the handling of discovery. Sometimes in a lawsuit, the two parties exchange information. I exchanged too much – basically handing the case to the opposition.”

Rey frowned. “But it was just an accident?”

As Hux looked at her and gave her a half-smile, she raised her eyebrows.

“What? It wasn’t an accident? You were helping the opposition?”

Hux nodded.

“My father is still defending this big crime lord at this moment. He’s always been able to stay out of court, but everyone knows he’s the one in charge, he just keeps his hands clean. There were half a dozen witnesses to a nasty incident where he was involved, but none of them had anything good on him – nothing that was a real danger to his integrity. Except for a seventh witness that I discovered that had really good stuff on him, including photographic evidence that he was at the scene of the crime. I didn’t say as much or even write it down, but I handed it over to the other party, and they’re finally going to be able to lock him up because of it. Father was furious of course. He hasn’t lost a case in four years. And then he made sure I got kicked out of the First Order.”

Rey was baffled.

“Hux!” Her mouth was left open as she gazed at him. “Hadn’t you realized what it would lead to?”

Hux shrugged. “I hadn’t expected it to go the way it did. I didn’t realize he’d find out, but I didn’t cover my tracks as I should have. I can’t say I really regret it. I’ve seen plenty of cases of the thugs that that crime lord employed. Vandalism, theft, rape, murder, even… It was time someone stopped him.”

Rey smiled warmly. “I’m proud of you for doing the right thing. I know Kylo Ren certainly wouldn’t have. He would have just wanted to win the case.”

Hux nodded. “I think so too. He’s very supportive of my father’s methods.”

Rey seemed quite upset to hear that and shook her head.

“Well screw him, and your father,” Rey said in a bitter tone.

They finished the last of their meal in silence, and when they were done, Rey yawned.

“Won’t you stay the night?” Hux offered. “You’ve had a rough evening. Let me be there for you.”

Finding that the sweetest offer, she nodded. “I’d love to. I could use some of that loft-time for myself.”

She went home to pack her toothbrush and clothes for the night, and changed into her nightgown in his little bathroom.

He was waiting for her in his loft, wearing his green pajamas and lifting the cover to invite her in. As she crawled by his side, she smiled at him, not laying down until he gave her a kiss, and when he did, she didn’t want to stop kissing him.

He seemed reluctant to move further for now, and after ten minutes of kissing, he softly asked: “Would you like to take it further tonight?”

Rey gulped, finding it a difficult question to answer.

“Not tonight,” she whispered softly. “I’m sorry if I was… being a little too straightforward or giving mixed signals.”

“You weren’t,” he replied gently, resting his forehead against hers as they shared a pillow. “I just wanted to know for certain. I’m not always the best at reading intent.”

Rey was quiet for a moment, remembering what she’d spoken about with Holdo. Sometimes she believed the abuse he’d suffered was the cause of his poor relationship skills. Other times she felt like it was something more innate. Maybe it was something she could ask him about, if she was subtle.

“Have you ever spoken to a psychologist about that?” Rey wondered. “About not being good at reading intent?”

Hux chuckled.

“Me, go to a psychologist? My father would not allow that, though he often told me I wasn’t right in the head.”

Rey’s heart ached for him. Part of her wished she hadn’t asked. She cared too much not to, so much that he sometimes moved her to tears.

“Do you believe that?” she asked gently.

He shrugged. “A little bit. I don’t fit in as well as others do. Sometimes I feel like the smartest man alive, other times I feel incredibly dumb. There is no in-between.”

“Hux?”

He moved back a little to look at her, seeing that she had the kindest gaze possible in her eyes.

“I love you.”

He was surprised and moved by her words, and couldn’t help but return her gaze with a bright smile of his.

“I love you too, Rey!”

They kissed each other again, their bodies entangling under the sheets as they wanted to feel closer to one another.

“You eh, you still don’t want sex, right?” he checked, just to be sure.

Rey chuckled. “No, let’s wait a while. I’m really quite tired and want to be more alert for our first time – and it doesn’t seem appropriate with everything that went on between our neighbors today.”

“Valid reasons,” he remarked wisely, and this caused her to laugh.

“Let’s catch some sleep, okay?” She stroked his cheek with the back of her hand, and he seemed to shiver a little at the sensation, wrinkling his nose because of it. She laughed because of his reaction to that, and he brought his hand to the light dimmer.

“Okay!” He quickly kissed her nose, then turned off the lights and whispered: “Good night, my sweet Rey!”

She giggled. “Good night, Armitage, my love.”


	8. A Plan for the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe has an idea...

A few days passed and things changed at the domain.

Rose was moving out. She was heading into the city with an old friend, Kaydel Co Connix. It was a big change, but one she felt that she needed to make.

Though she didn’t part as an enemy to either Finn or Poe, they were still not embracing this new-found freedom to just explore this thing between each other, and seemed to be avoiding each other a bit.

But then Thanksgiving drew nearer, and Poe went to extend an invitation to Rey and Hux. Though Rey and Hux didn’t usually celebrate it, Poe had been raised with the tradition, and he liked sharing it with friends now that he wasn’t with his own family for a change.

“How is Finn doing?” Rey asked him, but the man just shook his head.

“You should ask him, he hasn’t really spoken to me. I think he feels like he needs to atone for the misery he caused Rose.”

Rey frowned. “He shouldn’t.”

“I know,” Poe replied, “But try telling him that!”

As Hux was preparing them some coffee, Poe curiously wondered: “How are the two of you doing? I notice you’re spending a lot of time together.”

“We’re good,” Rey admitted, smiling at Hux. “It’s nice to have someone around who hangs around the domain as much as I do.”

“Have you got any plans, career-wise?” Poe wondered, looking at Hux.

He shook his head. “At this moment, living here is very cheap, and I still have enough money from selling my car to live here for a few years.”

“You could probably take over Rose’s beehives,” Poe suggested. “Finn has said he’ll do it, but he’s got a full-time job, so that’s not ideal. They’re very little work during winter, and not a great deal of work in other seasons, but the honey sells decently.”

“How lucrative is it?” Hux wondered, curious about it.

“Rose got about 200 pounds of honey a year from her bee boxes, per jar she asked 15 pounds, so that’s 3000 pound sterling a year,” Poe calculated.

“The jars aren’t free,” Rey replied.

“They can’t be very expensive,” Hux replied. “Maybe 100 pounds or so if you buy 200 for half a Pound each, so that still leaves 2900 Pound.”

Poe nodded. “And you can have Rose’s old bee suit – it was way too big for her – I imagine you would not need a different one at first.”

“How much time did it take her each day?” Hux wondered.

“Day? Per week, you mean!” Poe explained. “An hour a week or so.”

Hux was impressed. “That’s a lot of money for just spending an hour a week on it!”

“Well, the harvest is a bit more time-consuming, but even then… If I were you, I would check with Finn, and maybe call Rose so she can give you some pointers. She really read up on it.”

“And you can always expand in the future if you want to,” Rey offered. “It could be a lot of fun to you. It’s as time-intensive as you want it to be.”

Hux wasn’t opposed to the idea. He’d lived in the city during his adult life, but this seemed like a great way to earn some extra cash and build a new skill.

“I’d only be making 250 Pounds a month with the numbers you gave me, which isn’t enough to fully support me, but at least the money I have would last a while longer.”

“You should look into planting local plants and vegetables and such,” Rey suggested. “That’s what I do in summer as well and it makes quite a bit! And gardening is very relaxing.”

Hux nodded. He wouldn’t be making as much as before, but at least the money would be fully his this time.

“And in the months that follow, you could read up on gardening and beekeeping and such,” Rey suggested. “It will give you a chance to prepare for the work ahead.”

Hux nodded. “Yes. I will love running through the calculations, I’m sure of it.”

“You should talk to Rose,” Poe suggested. “She had a few lucrative ways to make money all-year-round. She might still have some ideas for you.”

Taking it into consideration, he nodded again. “I shall reach out to her. Promise.”

+++

Hux had contacted Rose and invited her over to his tiny home, and while Hux waited for her to arrive, Rey was getting ready for a trip of her own.

“I should be back tonight, just heading into the city for some shopping and seeing some old friends,” she told him.

“I’ll miss you,” he admitted. If he thought about it, he hadn’t spent a day at the domain without Rey somewhere nearby. It was weird to think she’d be gone all day.

Rey gave him a sweet kiss goodbye, and he was still smiling as she closed the door and left him behind.

Once she’d left the domain, her smile was gone though.

What she was about to do was a cause for concern. She was going to take a bus into the city. It would take a few hours to get there. Then she would go straight to the First Order headquarters, speak to Kylo Ren, and sort out why Hux was left without money after being fired from a job he’d had fourteen years. She knew Hux had made some mistakes in taking care of his bank account, and that his father had basically run off with the money, but if there was a way in which she could help him, financially, she had to try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short chapter - promise to upload the next one later today! :-) 2 chapters in 1 day? whuuuuut?   
Yeah - you better believe it!  
Now be a dear and leave me a comment. ;-)


	9. Confronting The First Order

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey has a talk with her ex and Hux's former boss...

As she walked through the city, she had one fear: what if Kylo Ren wasn’t in the office? He was the CEO now – but that didn’t mean he was always around. Or what if he didn’t have the time to see her? Or what if he refused to see her?

It had been years since they’d last spoken, and they hadn’t left on great terms.

Stepping into the building, she didn’t head to the reception, but went straight to the elevator. She knew the top floor was for higher management, and that they had their own reception desk there – something Kylo Ren had once told her in case she ever wanted to visit him, which she’d never done until now.

Rey stood out a bit among the people in business suits walking around. Her clothes gave off the impression she was lost, but her gaze did quite the opposite. With a determined glance in her eye, she asked the man behind the reception if she could exchange a quick word with Kylo Ren.

The dark-haired man blinked for a moment, a little confused as he checked his boss’s agenda, and asked: “And your name is?”

“Rey Niima,” she replied. “If you mention the name ‘Rey’ that should ring a bell.”

He seemed hesitant, and for a moment Rey feared she would be asked to leave, but then he picked up the phone and dialed a short code.

“Sir, there’s someone here to see you. Her name is Rey. Can I send her through or ask her to wait?” There seemed to be some silence, before she heard that the receptionist was receiving some instructions. Then he hung up the phone and the receptionist smiled as he said: “He will see you now. Please take that corridor, then go all the way through to the back.”

Relieved that she wouldn’t need to return another day, Rey nodded happily and thanked the man before she went into the corridor and walked as far as she could.

The door to his office opened before she was there, and Kylo Ren had an incredibly confused expression on his face as he saw her approach.

He seemed taller and wider than ever, and his black suit fit him like a glove. He was looking good, and for a moment Rey needed to remind herself that physical attraction was no guarantee for a healthy relationship, and she smiled politely.

“Rey!” he said, confused. “What brings you here? Please come in!”

“It’s a bit of a story,” she admitted. “How have you been?”

It was always awkward asking an ex such a question, but he didn’t seem to feel awkward to reply.

“Good! Very good! The First Order is doing great!”

She wondered if he still measured his personal success by the numbers of success of the First Order, but didn’t push for a more personal answer.

“How have you been, Rey? You were the last person I would have expected to see here today!”

“I’m doing great, myself! But I do need to ask you for some help.”

Kylo frowned, instantly worried. As he indicated to his desk and Rey saw the fancy leather chairs in front of it, she headed that way.

His office was larger than she’d ever imagined, and he had a spectacular view over the city. There was a table near the door for meetings, as well as a few comfortable couches by the windows, and even a bar! She could understand how someone could choose that life over a life in a tiny house – but she wasn’t jealous of it.

“You’ve got me incredibly curious now,” Kylo admitted. “It’s been too many years!”

There was appreciation in his gaze as he looked at her, and for a moment Rey felt a little uneasy. Maybe he thought she was there to rekindle their affection, but that wasn’t true at all.

“I’m here about a mutual acquaintance of ours. I hope you remember him. Armitage Hux?”

Kylo seemed shocked to hear that name.

“You’ve seen him? Recently?”

Rey nodded, tilting her head as she replied: “Yes, this morning!”

Kylo’s mouth dropped and he seemed shocked for a moment. “Really?!” He was completely blown away. “We have to inform his father. The man’s been worried sick! After we fired him, he has vanished off the face of the earth!”

Rey frowned, and as she saw Kylo’s hand go towards the phone on his desk, she got up and put her hand on his, stopping him with a forbidding look.

“No – don’t.”

Confused, Kylo looked at her, not pulling his hand away underneath hers.

Realizing she was touching him, she pulled her hand away quickly, and she sat back down again.

“Hear me out, please,” Rey said. “Don’t involve his father, please.”

“It’s not really your style to beg for anything, so I will comply,” Kylo answered, still frowning.

“You seem to be under the impression that Hux is a good father to his son?” Rey asked, confused now.

Kylo nodded. “He was incredibly worried. The day after we fired him, I asked him how Hux was taking it, and he said that he’d ran away from his apartment, vanished! He didn’t return either in the weeks that followed. His father looked everywhere.”

Rey was frowning, looking upset.

“You don’t agree?” Kylo asked.

“No. That’s a lie. He changed the lock and key on Hux’s apartment so he’d have no choice but to disappear from his life completely.”

Kylo raised an eyebrow, not buying that. “That’s ridiculous. He could have just gone to his father’s home then and asked to sort that out.”

“That’s not something someone is likely to do after your father has abused you since you were a child,” Rey said coldly. “Sounds like Hux senior is fooling you about the relationship he had with his son.”

Kylo sat back in his chair and crossed his arms.

“Are you calling one of my most brilliant lawyers an abuser?”

“Are you calling any of your lawyers morally just men?” Rey replied with narrowed eyes. “The First Order is renowned for keeping dangerous men out of prison. That’s where a morally just man would usually like to see them.”

Kylo Ren’s gaze turned sour. He was not approving of this conversation at all. But then again, she made a fair point.

“If Brendol Hux knew you were here saying those things, he’d sue you for lies and slander.”

“Yes, I can imagine that’s the person he is,” Rey replied stubbornly. “It’s Armitage that should be suing him for abuse, or for kicking him out of the apartment without any notice or giving him the opportunity to pick up his clothes, or for holding onto the money that he earned here himself during the 14 years he was in the service of the First Order.”

Kylo frowned. “What are you talking about? We paid Armitage well all those years – there are records.”

Rey thought for a moment. “Could you check to which bank account number that goes and if it’s the same as the one you’re sending the payments for Brendol Hux to?”

Kylo raised his eyebrows and scratched his chin. “Sure, that’s easy enough to check. But I doubt it will be the same number.”

As he typed furiously on his keyboard, and clicked over a dozen times, he wrote something down on a little notepad before he repeated the same steps again, and he raised his eyebrows.

“It is indeed the same bank account number,” he said softly, looking at Rey with a confused expression. “But then how has Armitage been handling his finances the past decade or so?”

Rey shrugged. “He had a bank card which he used for shopping and such – but he’s not particularly a big spender – and it got blocked the same day he got fired and locked out of his house. He sold his car in order to have some money to live, and luckily he did have a really expensive one so he’s not in any financial trouble just yet.”

Kylo Ren was quiet for several moments. He was beginning to believe Rey.

“It’s still hard to believe Brendol meant Armitage ill. Are you sure Armitage isn’t fooling you? I mean, he was always a bit of an odd guy, I can imagine Brendol feeling safer that he would not take care of his finances all by himself.”

Rey frowned, insulted that Kylo would insinuate that.

“He’s an adult. He can take care of himself,” Rey insisted. “And he wouldn’t fool me.”

Kylo didn’t seem convinced and rolled his eyes.

“Come on, he’s a bit of an autist, it’s good that Brendol tried to help him.”

Rey wasn’t certain what she was more upset about – about the fact Kylo called him an autist like he knew Hux better than anyone, or about the insinuation that anything was ‘good’ about Brendol Hux’s intentions towards his son.

“Are you going to sit here and insult Armitage or are you going to make things right?” Rey asked furiously, standing up.

Kylo crossed his arms before his chest once more.

“Why should I take your word on Brendol for it? You’ve never even met the man! I’ve known him for a decade. I think I know better in this case.”

Rey was fuming, but then she remembered…

“How about we get a third opinion?” Rey asked. “A witness, of sorts?”

Kylo narrowed his eyes. “Who?”

Rey smiled triumphantly.

“Phasma!”


	10. Phasma's Help

When Kylo opened the door and Phasma walked in, Rey was impressed.

Phasma had to be the tallest woman she’d ever seen, and there was something glamorous about the way she held herself. Yet at the same time she was fierce – or maybe that was just the way she appeared because she actually looked down upon Kylo Ren – of all giants!

Her killer heels did nothing to make her smaller, and Rey felt tinier than ever as she stood up to shake the woman’s hand.

“Hi! I’m Rey Niima!”

“Phasma,” she replied with a small smile. Apparently she didn’t have a first, or last name. Like ‘Madonna’ or ‘Beyonce’, she could be remembered by all with only a few syllables.

As Kylo sat down behind his desk, Rey and Phasma sat down in the leather chairs, and Phasma curiously looked at Rey.

“Kylo said I could assist?”

Rey nodded. She wasn’t sure what the best way was to go about this, but decided to explain again.

“You know Armitage?”

The careful way in which Rey asked that, made Phasma’s gaze soften as she blinked. She could feel something wasn’t right.

“Is he okay?” she asked. “I’ve been worried.”

“He’s fine,” Rey replied with a prudent smile. “He was locked out of his own apartment by his father, after being fired here. I’m not saying I know the full story, but I know Armitage speaks kindly of you, and Kylo’s not believing anything I tell him about Brendol Hux.”

Phasma took a deep breath, bracing herself. When she glanced at Kylo, her gaze was strict, and Kylo’s eyebrows shot up.

“You believe her?” he asked incredulously.

“Brendol Hux is an abusive pig,” Phasma said immediately. “Of course I believe her.” Turning to Rey again, she seemed curious. “What are you to Armitage?”

Rey couldn’t help but smile. “I’m his girlfriend – though it’s a very new thing, of course.”

Phasma smiled. She didn’t seem to be the jealous type.

Kylo, however, looked horrified. Rey ignored it.

“He told me a little bit about you, that’s why I asked you to come here,” Rey said. “But I understand if you don’t want to talk about it right now.”

Phasma shook her head. “I’m more than fine to talk about it, especially after hearing he locked Armitage out of his own place. What the fuck was he thinking? Bastard.”

“Talk about what?” Kylo asked with a frown.

“Talk about the fact that Armitage was abused physically and mentally by Brendol, and that Brendol once laid hands on me and Armitage was the one to come to the rescue. Even though he was trembling all over and terrified of his own old man.”

Kylo was still frowning, but the disbelief was making way for shock.

“So…” He scratched the back of his head. “If that’s true… Then Brendol hasn’t been worried about Armitage at all?”

“I dare to bet he was the one that terminated Armitage’s cell phone number,” Phasma said, clearly very annoyed. “I tried calling Armitage in the evening, but his line was already out of service. When I confronted Brendol he said that Armitage probably wants nothing else to do with us anymore – maybe he did and Brendol was the one owning the number and paying the bills!”

Rey nodded. “I never spoke about that with Armitage, but I don’t think it ever crossed his mind anyone from the First Order still wanted to talk to him. And if he had any hope that things could be made right, I like to believe he would be the one sitting here and not me. I just want him to get what is rightfully his.”

Kylo thought about it. “The money after his six weeks’ notice…” He nodded. “If you can get me his bank account number – I can let it get adjusted in the system so that HR can transfer it to his bank account instead of Brendol’s. But I’m not sure what else I can do to help in this situation.”

Phasma was less prudent with voicing her thoughts.

“We can sue Brendol’s ass into the ground. It’s what we do, isn’t it?”

Kylo seemed upset with that suggestion. “He is still one of our best lawyers. He’s got open cases! It would reflect badly upon all of us if he turned out to be guilty of such crimes.”

Phasma rolled her eyes. “Men.” She looked at Rey. “But I think we just need a little more evidence to make this right.” Turning to Kylo, she said: “Do you have time today? I have an idea.”

+++

An hour later, Rey, Phasma and Kylo Ren found themselves in a rather nice part of town, where many huge apartment blocks stood around a wonderful town square. Kylo bought himself a hotdog, feeling peckish, while Phasma and Rey stood a little further.

“I’m sorry if I put you in an awkward situation,” Rey apologized. “Armitage told me about the two of you, and I didn’t want to out you in any way.”

Phasma shook her head. “No apology necessary. It happened before that ‘Me too’ stuff, but Brendol remained too powerful, and I really didn’t dare take him on so many years after it all happened. I’m really glad that Armitage trusts you enough to confide in you. He did tell me some things about Brendol being a jerk – but not much. We had a one-night-fling, not a proper relationship.”

“So, where did he live?” Rey wondered, looking around the square, and Phasma orientated herself for a moment before she pointed to one of the buildings. “Over there. Seventh floor.”

It was a modern-looking and sleek design, and Rey could see it hadn’t been a cheap one.

“That entire block is owned by Brendol.”

Rey could hear the venom in Phasma’s voice.

“I can’t believe he’s been keeping Armitage’s money to himself. He’s one of the richest men in town. There isn’t a man in town that needs it less.”

As Kylo stuffed his face with a hotdog and approached them, Phasma rolled her eyes and beckoned them to follow her. As they entered the hallway of the apartment, they could see the dozens of names on the mailboxes, and Phasma tapped on the one where Armitage’s should have been.

“It’s already missing. Brendol surely didn’t wait for Armitage’s mail to arrive here. Let’s gather some evidence.”

Kylo wanted to stop her – but his mouth was still full of hotdog and before he was able to say anything, she’d already pressed a buzzer.

“Yes, hello?” came an old, shrill female voice from the speaker.

“Yes, hello, we’re old friends of Armitage Hux, who used to live opposite you. Could we come up to speak to you? We’re looking for him!”

“Oh! Oh, bless your hearts, sure, come up! Seventh floor!”

They took the elevator to the seventh floor, an awkward silence between them as they stood in the small space together. When the elevator opened, they saw the short hallway, with two doors on either side of it.

The woman was already waiting for them, her hair gray and curly. She had to be well over seventy, and her back was a little hunched.

“We were wondering if you’ve seen Armitage?” Phasma asked kindly, who seemed to be twice as big as the woman. “We haven’t seen him in weeks!”

It was an act, but Rey wouldn’t guess it to be so. Phasma was good at this.

“Oh dear!” the woman seemed sad to hear it. “No, they changed lock and key one day – in the middle of the day! Then, a few days later, they came to move out all of his stuff. His flat is on the market again now. No idea where his things went!”

Rey frowned. Brendol surely hadn’t waited a moment to get rid of his son’s items.

“I do hope he’s okay! Even if he’s the dangerous type, it’s never good if they’re gone too long – and it’s been weeks now!”

“What do you mean, the dangerous type?” Rey wanted to know. From all she’d seen of Armitage, she hadn’t believed him to be dangerous for one second. Why did this woman think differently?

“Oh, his father told me that he had some anger issues, so it was best if I left him alone.”

Rey opened her mouth to protest, but stopped when she felt Phasma’s hand on her shoulder, and the tall women politely said: “Thank you so much for the information though. I guess he won’t be back here then. Let’s hope he reaches out to us!”

“Oh, I hope so too!” the woman replied with a big smile, the few teeth she had left rather crooked and dark. “Have a nice day!”

+++

They left the building rather deep in thought.

“I can’t believe Brendol would be such a jerk,” Kylo said softly. “Not only has he taken Armitage’s money, but also his apartment, all his belongings… basically everything! I mean, Armitage ruined a case, and I’m still rather upset with him about that – but Brendol is his father. I thought he would at least help him get a job or something like that… Not…”

“Not abuse him and force him out onto the street?” Rey filled in for him, and Kylo shrugged, guessing it was as good a description as any.

“What can we do to help him?” Phasma asked, and to Rey’s surprise, she seemed to be asking Kylo, not her.

“At this point there isn’t much we can do. I didn’t want him to come back to work after we fired him, but contractually, he’s still an employer for now – he’s within his six final weeks – and that’s when the final paycheck will be sent as well. It’s fully his right to get it, so we need his bank account number.” He looked at Rey. “Do you have that?”

She shook her head. “I know he has a bank card now – I’ve seen him use it when we go shopping.”

“I don’t know,” Phasma said. “I mean, it’s great we can pay him on his own bank account now – but he’s missed fourteen years of paychecks. Who knows how much he would have saved up. He wasn’t particularly a big spender. Brendol owes him money. If we sue him…”

“We would be suing our own company,” Kylo interrupted strictly. “We’re not dragging this into court.”

Phasma frowned. “Then what?”

“We force a settlement with him. Out of court. We let him know what we know, and hope he sees reason and is willing to compensate Armitage.”

Rey nodded. “I think that’s the best course of action to take. I doubt Armitage is waiting for this to go to court or anything of the sort. He doesn’t even know I’m here.”

Phasma smiled. “You’re a good friend. It’s good that someone stands up for him when he clearly doesn’t know how to do it himself.”

Hesitantly, Rey shook her head. “I don’t think it’s that. I just think that he’s tired of fighting.”

Not offended by that, Phasma just nodded. “Shall we come with you? So we can speak to Armitage about this?”

That was something she hadn’t considered, and she hesitated. Hux didn’t even know where she was, or what she was doing.

“You came by bus, didn’t you?” Kylo agreed. “Let’s take my car, I can drive you home, at least. And maybe we can talk to him about all this.”

Biting her lip, Rey slowly nodded. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea though. He really doesn’t know what I was doing today. I hope he won’t be upset.”

“Upset?” Phasma laughed. “He should fall to his knees and thank you for what you did today. Besides, I’d really like to speak to him myself. I think he was a wonderful colleague, and would like to express my gratitude for his service.” She glared at Kylo. “Not kick him out of the building and give him ten minutes to pack his things.”

A little shocked, Rey looked at Kylo, who tried his hardest not to look at her.

“Well, he _has _betrayed the First Order – I stand by what I did.”

“It was still a jerk move, whether your motive checks out or not,” Phasma scolded him. “The First Order was his life, and you gave him ten minutes to say goodbye to it. I was in court at the time and couldn’t even say goodbye.”

Rey wasn’t certain if she saw remorse on Kylo’s face, or if he was just upset with the way Phasma was talking back to him, but he begrudgingly led them to his car, willing to give them a lift.


	11. The A-Word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux is in for a surprise when he finds his old colleagues at his doorstep...

Hux’s day had been pretty great, even without Rey.

Rose had come by and had shown him everything there was to show about taking care of the bees. She had talked for hours, and he had listened attentively to everything she’d said. They’d eaten some sandwiches in Hux’s tiny home, and after that Rose had handed him her books on beekeeping and given him some numbers of other beekeepers in the area.

It was like a new world was opening before him, and he could not wait to become an expert on this subject. By the time it got dark, Rose went back to the city, and he was left with half a dozen books to read.

He started reading them while he sat at his little kitchen table, pen and paper in hand so he could make notes, and while he was aware that Rey wasn’t home yet, he didn’t get a chance to worry. His mind was too occupied.

When he heard a car pull up nearby, he didn’t recognize the sound of Poe’s pick-up truck, and so he gazed out the window, seeing three familiar figures emerge from the vehicle in the distance.

It was such a shock that it dazed him. He had no idea what was going on as he opened the door and stepped outside, wearing jeans and his green sweater.

It seemed like Phasma was a little surprised to see him like that as well.

She’d only ever seen him wear fancy business clothes – well, and naked too – but she’d never seen him look this casual. It seemed like he didn’t even put gel in his hair anymore. He appeared to be a different man altogether now.

As Armitage’s gaze crossed Kylo’s, for a moment his heart skipped a beat and he felt adrenaline kick in. With Kylo Ren, a fight or flight mode was usually needed in order to survive the encounter, and his body would not tell him differently this time. So when he looked at Rey and saw her apologetic look, he already looked hurt.

What had she done? And why?

“I’m sorry to surprise you like this,” Rey said. “I went to the First Order headquarters to speak to Kylo about the way you lost your job, and the way your father kicked you out.”

Hux was frowning, clearly upset that she had done that. He pressed his lips together so tightly that it seemed he would pass out if he kept that up.

“Hux, I’m sorry,” Kylo said, recognizing that gaze, yet hardly recognizing the man in front of him. “I was terribly upset that you could betray the First Order like that. But I didn’t know what the results would be. I didn’t know it would you leave you with no choice but to move to a place like…” He pulled up his nose as he gestured around. “_This_.”

Hux only frowned deeper at that.

“This place has been better to me in a few weeks than the First Order ever was,” Hux replied, his voice trembling. “I don’t need your help now _or _your apologies. Stick them in your ass, with the rest of your ego!”

While Rey and Phasma stood there in shock, Hux stormed back into his tiny house, slamming the door so hard that the entire house shook.

Phasma and Rey just turned to look at Kylo, who had turned quite red in the face, but had no idea what to say next.

“What?” he asked, his voice a higher pitch than usual. “What did I say wrong?”

+++

Rey tapped on the door before she entered, not even waiting for him to say she could come in.

She’d asked Phasma and Kylo to wait, and hoped that she could somehow calm Hux down.

Realizing that she’d made a mistake in surprising him in this way, she took a deep breath as she looked around. He wasn’t around the main space, and as she saw light coming from the loft and his shoes at the bottom of the stairs, she assumed he’d gone up there.

Climbing up the stairs, she sat down at the edge of the platform and looked at him. He was already under the sheets, his back turned to her as he stared at the wall.

“I’m sorry, Armitage,” she apologized. “I wanted to help but I only considered the injustice done to you, not your feelings.”

He did not talk, and her heart ached because of it.

“Kylo needs your bank account number, at least,” she said. “He’ll be able to transfer your last payout to your account.”

He was silent again, until he mumbled: “My bank card is in my wallet, which is in the drawer to the side of the stairs.”

“Phasma also wanted to talk to you,” Rey offered. “She hated the way in which you left before she could say goodbye – she found out too late and then you were already gone. Can I send her in or ask her to come back?”

“I don’t want to see them,” he insisted stubbornly. “I don’t want them here.”

Rey frowned. She had at least hoped he would agree to see her at a later point. Part of her was upset, but then she reminded herself to be patient and gentle. She knew he wasn’t like most people, and Kylo’s words of earlier that day haunted her mind.

“Are you autistic?” she asked carefully, and at those words, he turned around to face her, anger in his eyes.

“I suppose Kylo told you what he thought of me, didn’t he?” He pursed his lips together before he said: “He always liked to antagonize me by saying such things, always just loud enough for me to hear. Maybe you should go back to him – because I’m not sure I want you anymore after today.”

_Ouch._

Rey gulped, tears in her eyes. She was not going to have this argument, this fight, right now. Not while Phasma and Kylo were waiting outside.

She looked away from Armitage and didn’t look back as she went down the stairs and looked for his bank card. She dried her tears and took a deep breath, putting on her best fake smile before she headed outside, to where Kylo and Phasma were talking to one another, whispering.

“I’m afraid he won’t see you today,” Rey told them, but she held up the bank card. “But if you want, you can write down this number for your file?”

Kylo nodded, not pushing the matter. “I’ll take a picture.”

As he grabbed his phone and made the photo, Phasma was studying Rey. She could see how the girl was close to tears, and though she was worried, she did not push for more.

“Let me know if he changes his mind, okay?” Phasma asked, and as Rey nodded, that was enough. She handed Rey a business card and said: “My number, just in case.”

Rey put it away in her pocket. “Thanks.”

“I guess it’s up to us now to make this right,” she continued, looking at Kylo. “Rey has her hands full with Armitage. It’s up to us to tackle Brendol.”

Kylo nodded slowly, looking at Rey with a slightly worried expression.

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked gently, but Rey just waved it away.

“Yeah, don’t worry,” she said quickly, trying to keep her voice from breaking. “It’s just been a long day.”

It was not hard to recognize that she wanted to be alone, and so Kylo and Phasma bade her a good night before they left again.

As she headed back into Hux’s tiny home to return the bank card to its rightful place, there were tears in her eyes.

+++

Opening the door again, she walked to the table, where she’d left Hux’s wallet, but she jumped the moment she noticed he was sitting on the stairs, looking at her apprehensively, with his hands folded around his knees.

The small gasp that escaped from her and the way she put her hand over her heart, betrayed how much he’d scared her, and he gulped.

“Sorry,” he said, but it sounded cold and Rey frowned.

“For what?” she asked. “For now?”

He hesitated. “Also for now.”

Rey leaned back against the table, crossing her arms over one another defensively. She didn’t say a word. She figured Hux had something to say.

“I honestly don’t know if I have autism,” he admitted, not looking at her. “Maybe. I’m not sure. Maybe I’m just the way I am because of what my father did to me. Maybe it’s because I grew up without a loving mother. Or maybe I’m wired differently. I do know that I feel very different from everyone.” Admitting that last part was the hardest, and tears came to his eyes. “I don’t think people like me very much, and maybe they’re right not to.”

Rey’s heart ached and part of her wanted to run over to him and hug him, but she had to let him speak his mind. It wasn’t often that he gave glimpses into his mind like that.

His lips were trembling though, and as he looked at Rey, she saw the miserable state he was in, and she offered: “Would you like a hug?”

He hesitated, but then he nodded and got up, walking to her on his bare feet before he put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. Rey inhaled sharply as well, knowing that she loved this man, and no amount of weirdness could change that.

They stood there hugging for a while, before she gently said: “I think Phasma really likes you. She wanted to talk to you.”

He was quiet, not wanting to talk about his old job, or even think about it for that matter.

“I’m sorry for what I said,” he apologized instead.

“For what exactly?” she wondered.

“That I didn’t want you anymore. I still do.”

She relaxed in his arms and looked at him, and saw how sincerely he meant it.

“I guess I… maybe I was jealous,” he mumbled, and Rey smiled gently.

“You have nothing to be jealous of. Do you know why?”

He thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“Because Kylo chose that life in the city over me – he chose a life protecting scumbags in court over me. And you’re still here with me, opening yourself up to this change, to this lifestyle, and to me.”

He put his hand against her cheek, gratitude in his expression.

“I love you,” he said simply. “More than I’ve ever loved anyone.”

She leaned into him and they shared a sweet kiss, and Rey felt her anxious heart calm down again. What she’d done today hadn’t ended their relationship – and she counted her blessings.


	12. Thanksgiving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a time to be grateful...

The last Friday of November, they made their way to Poe’s tiny house. Beebee-ate was ecstatic with all the visitors dropping by, like he knew perfectly well that something was going on.

While Poe had the turkey in the oven, Rey was preparing some gratin in hers, and Finn was making sprouts. They had their clocks set to rush to their homes the moment the food was ready, and so they didn’t make themselves too comfortable yet while Hux set the table and Poe was nearly done with the turkey.

Poe couldn’t entertain more than four people comfortably in his house, so it was a good thing it was just them, and while Poe sang along to some classics, Rey just smiled at Hux, checking whether he was uncomfortable with all of this.

But he wasn’t – honestly. He was feeling quite comfortable as he sat between Rey and the wall, and when Finn and Rey left to get their food as well, Poe wondered: “So you’re not much of a chef, Rey told me?”

He shook his head. “My diet is very limited, and I’ve never done much cooking. It’s becoming a bit of an issue. Rey wants me to cook sometimes, but she’s beginning to notice I always cook the same five things.”

Poe laughed. “Maybe I can help a bit. If you write down a list of all the things you enjoy eating, I can give you some ideas. For example… Do you eat spaghetti?”

“Yes, that’s one of the things I’m good at making,” he admitted.

“Alright, and do you like zucchini, carrots and mushrooms?”

He nodded.

“And you like mash?”

“Everyone likes mash,” Hux replied.

“Well, you can make a great casserole then. Meat at the bottom, vegetables in the middle, mashed potatoes on top. You can do it with plenty of vegetables and even certain fruits. It’s a bit of work, but I bet Rey would love it.”

“You’ll have to give me the recipe,” Hux agreed.

Rey was back first and put the gratin on a little side-table Poe had set up in the kitchen, and when Finn entered with the sprouts, they were all ready to start eating, but Poe urged them to take their places first.

“Before we dig in, I’d like to say some words of thanks!” he said, sitting down among the rest of his guests. “I’m so grateful to live here with all of you – and to have the most amazing job in the world. I get to travel the world and explore all these cultures, yet nowadays it only feels like home when I’m here with you guys!”

Beebee-ate barked.

“And I’m thankful for Beebee-ate! And…” He looked at Finn, who was smiling. “…I’m thankful that after so many Thanksgivings knowing him, Finn has finally fallen for my charms, even though it happened when I least expected it to. In quite a messy way.”

“I’m thankful that I have you,” Finn replied. “It has been a rough couple of weeks for me, and I had not expected to come out in such a way that was so devastating to Rose. I truly regret how that went, but I’m grateful that she’s supportive of me exploring these feelings further, with you, and I’m grateful that I still have my job, and my health, and this little family here.”

Rey was next, and she smiled widely.

“I’m happy with this family here as well, and with our way of living, and…” She put her hand on top of Hux’s. “With my cute new boyfriend.”

Finn and Poe laughed as Hux turned a little red in the face.

“I’m thankful that you ended up in our lives,” Rey said softer, smiling. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he replied, and both Finn and Poe went “aww!” at the same time.

“Do you want to say thanks as well?” Poe asked him. “You don’t have to if it makes you uncomfortable, I understand that this is your first Thanksgiving ever?”

“I want to say thanks!” he said, a hint of eagerness in his voice, and he held Rey’s hand a little firmer. “I want to say thanks because when I first got here, I didn’t want anything to do with anyone, and before I was able to fall into a depression, you already pulled me out and showed me everything you knew about this way of life. From chopping wood to fishing, to taking care of bees. Even now that Rose no longer lives here, she still took the time to teach me and give me an opportunity to grow and develop myself in new ways, and I am so thrilled that you are all so patient with me and so welcoming, even after I slammed the door in your faces the first time we met.”

They laughed again, and Hux turned to Rey.

“Rey… I’m thankful that you seem to know me better than I know myself. I know it sounds incredibly corny, but that’s exactly what it is. You know what I need and you give me space, and cuddles, and you fix the things I’m too cowardly to fix. You looked at my mess of a life, and you made it infinitely better. I can’t wait to spend more time with you, and hope I’ll be here again next year, thanking you all again for the hundreds of ways in which you’re making me a better person and are helping me tackle life.”

Rey was moved, but so were her two neighbors, and she whispered: “I love you so much…”

Then she leaned in and kissed him, and while at first Poe and Finn were delighted to see it, after a while, Poe cleared his throat: “Should I put the turkey back in the oven so you guys can go to your loft for a while?”

Red in the face, Hux and Rey broke apart and tried to subdue their lust for one another, and instead they got up to take a plate of all the delicious food that was laid out for them.

+++

They ended the evening with some pecan pie with whipped cream, and – completely satisfied and in a bit of a food coma – they headed back to their tiny house after midnight.

Usually they spent the night in their own homes, though Rey had slept over in Hux’s loft a few times. Their relationship hadn’t really moved much further than kissing and cuddling yet, and after their declarations of love, they both felt like they did not want to wait much longer.

So as they stood kissing outside Hux’s door, he realized he wanted much more, and whispered: “Won’t you come in?”

She understood the gaze in his eyes, and nodded slowly.

“Will you have sex with me?” he added next, and Rey frowned.

“Yes, of course. Why do you always have to ask it so literally?”

“Consent-stuff,” he said. “I just want to make sure we’re on the same level.”

“I assure you, if you touch my panties you’ll feel how much we’re on the same level.”

He blushed due to her forwardness, and opened the door to his house.

“Let me put on the stove,” he said in an apologetic tone as he took off his jacket, and while he fumbled with the fire, Rey made sure all the curtains were closed.

Then, she took off her jacket and started undressing. She was wearing a warm dress and pantyhose, and after she took them off, she was left in her underwear.

Hux gulped as he looked at her. He wasn’t certain if she always wore underwear that cute, or if it was something new. The red fabric looked soft against her skin – silk underpants with a silk, laced top. It seemed like she didn’t wear a proper bra, nor did it seem like she needed one.

He stood a little paralyzed for a moment, just looking at her curves, admiring everything about her, and when she stepped up to him and helped him out of his green sweater, his mouth felt dry.

Through half-lidded eyes, he watched her as she took off his gray shirt next, then opened the button of his jeans. It was at that moment that he realized he shouldn’t let her do all the undressing, and so he took a small step back and let her watch as he kicked off his shoes and put his jeans over a chair.

He was wearing black trunks, and his excitement was already visible to her, and she put her hand to his chest, feeling how quickly his heart was beating.

“Nervous?” she asked him.

“A little,” he admitted.

“It’s not your first time,” she told him, and he gulped.

“It might as well be. It’s the first time that I really don’t want to screw it up.”

“You won’t,” she whispered. “And even if you screw up, by coming in a minute, or by not coming at all, then know that I’ll try again tomorrow, or the day after, for as long as it takes, until we’re both spectacularly satisfied.”

He chuckled at that. That was reassuring.

Slowly, he let his hand travel down her bare arm, enjoying how her skin felt almost softer than her clothes, and when he reached the level of her wrist, he moved his hand to her bum, gently kneading the flesh while she stepped closer to him, his erection now pressed against her belly.

She was looking at him in an inviting way, and soon they were kissing passionately, his hands kneading her bum while her hands disappeared in his hair and urged him to deepen their kisses.

Though they didn’t talk, small moans betrayed what they liked, and Rey was glad that he was vocal about it in that way. It made it so much easier to arouse him by kissing his neck and earlobe, and she loved his panted breaths between her kisses, as though he would die if she would cease to give him her attention.

She moaned in desire when his fingers stroked the fabric between her legs. He smiled in approval.

“So damp,” he whispered, and she chuckled.

“I feel more like I’m soaking,” she replied, a little short of breath. “If you keep this up you’re going to need to place ‘caution: wet floor’ signs around here.”

He laughed at that – a loud and hearty laugh, and she felt it through her body, strangely enough only increasing her arousal.

He took her by the hands and gently spun her around, until she was facing the stairs to the loft.

“I think it’s time I helped you out with that,” he purred in her ear, and she could swear she soaked her panties even more at those words, and when he wrapped his arms around her stomach, she arched her back, standing on her toes as she pressed her bum into him.

“Please,” she begged him, and as he put one hand underneath her small top and fondled her breasts, she moaned with lust. His kisses to her neck were doing nothing to stop her from getting wetter for him.

“Let’s go to the loft,” he whispered, and she felt her stomach squeeze together pleasantly at that proposal.

“Yes,” she replied, and as he gently pushed her forward, she enjoyed the feeling of him against her back. While she climbed up the stairs, he was close behind her, but he stopped her for a moment to kiss her bum, and she breathed heavily. “I want you so much,” she told him, and he chuckled.

“Patience, Rey,” he replied, his voice teasing her.

She wasn’t always the patient type – not in bed, at least, and luckily he let her crawl up into the loft, where she laid herself down on his bed, ready to be conquered by him.

As he lay his body over hers, another moan escaped her, and he was delighted to hear how much she wanted him. With his hand between her legs, he drove her even wilder, until she practically begged him to undress her.

There was no clearer consent than that to him, and as he helped her out of her top and panties, he spent a long while kissing every inch of her torso before he moved his attention to her stomach and then to the wetness that was awaiting him even lower. His lips kissed every bit of skin there too, and when he brought his tongue into play, she begged him for more, and so he enjoyed her taste while his fingers explored her even further. It seemed to take him no time at all to get her to climax, and as he let her come down from that high, he enjoyed watching her naked body lay so comfortably in his sheets.

As he cuddled her, she reached for his pants as well, kneading him through the fabric of his trunks, until he too could only moan in approval of all the teasing she was doing.

When she released him, she lowered her face to his level, and before he even knew what she was doing, she was numbing all his other senses by licking him and taking him into her mouth, giving him a blowjob that was slow, but so sensual that he thought at various moments that he would come.

As she was bringing him to yet another edge, he stopped her.

“Enough,” he whispered. “I want to come inside of you.”

She seemed delighted to hear that and nodded eagerly.

They kissed for a while, before it seemed decided that Rey was the one to lie on her back for this.

Opening her legs to him, he moved over her, and as he positioned himself before her, he hoped it would go smoothly, and it did. Speechless, they enjoyed the sensation of one another’s most intimate parts before they kissed, then broke their kiss again as they started moving against each other, looking into each other’s eyes as they moaned in approval and desire.

“I love you,” Rey breathed, realizing that the combination of lust and affection she felt for him was unlike any she’d ever felt, and he kissed her lips at that, before he panted: “I love you too.”

He kept up the pace though, and increased it with Rey’s encouragement, ready to spend himself inside of her. As her legs shuddered and she came another time, he was delighted by the sound of her moans, and was able to follow her very shortly after.

Thrusting inside of her a few final times, he nearly collapsed on top of her, leaning on his elbows by her side so she wouldn’t need to bear his full weight.

She felt his hot breath against her neck as he tried to recompose himself, and she wrapped her arms around his waist as she placed kisses to the side of his head.

When he rolled off her, she enjoyed watching his expression, part-exhausted, part-incredulous, and another part completely satisfied.

He smiled the moment he realized she was looking at him and bit his lip as he gazed back into her brown, happy eyes.

“That was amazing,” he replied, and she agreed with a bright smile.

“I came so quickly,” she remarked, but he didn’t mind.

“It was wonderful,” he said gratefully, opening his arm invitingly so she moved to lay against him. Their bodies were still a little sweaty, but now they were starting to cool down in the cold air.

“Maybe we should take a little shower?” Rey suggested, and though Hux was feeling a little sleepy, he nodded.

“Yes. If it soothes me, then I’m certain I’ll sleep better than ever. If it wakes me, we can go for round two.”

Rey giggled. “I wouldn’t mind,” she admitted.

Hux winked at her, before they rolled off the bed again and made their way out of the loft.

In the shower, they spent more time kissing and enjoying each other’s company, and by the time they were done, Hux was already semi-erect again.

“Impressive,” Rey teased him while she gave him a hand-job, still naked in front of him.

“Shouldn’t you dry yourself first?” Hux asked, his tone a little worried. “I’d hate to see you get sick.”

Rey rolled her eyes and let go of him, and instead grabbed a towel.

“I suppose you’re right.”

“I have to take care of you too, sometimes,” Hux teased her. “I look out for you now. It’s the least I can do after all you’ve done for me.”

She smiled warmly as she started rubbing her body dry, but he soon aided her while they shared loving and lustful glances with one another. When they were dry again, she put her hand on the door, knowing that behind it, it would be a great deal cooler.

“See you in the loft for round two?”

He chuckled. “Hell yes.”


	13. A New Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter...

They’d made a mistake.

One they’d realized the day after Thanksgiving, and one Rey had cursed herself for.

But half a year later, at the end of spring, there was no doubt about it: Rey should have checked with him if he had condoms that first time, for she was never on the pill, and apparently Hux men were a rather fertile sort.

With her belly growing bigger by the day, and her hands resting comfortably around it, she stood looking at Finn, Poe and Hux as they stood on top of a new tiny house – one that was slightly bigger than the others, if only for the fact they needed to expand their new tiny home with a kid’s loft.

Hux had moved in with Rey the moment she’d told him she was pregnant, and she’d been relieved to see how excited he was to be a father. He was the responsible type, and had worked extra hard to get his bee-business up and running, and to do more work in the garden. He wanted to be self-sufficient in the things he grew, and had gotten some good news from Kylo and Phasma as well.

They’d spoken to Brendol – threatened him, basically – that if he did not give Armitage what he was due, they would sue him and drag his name through the mud in all ways that they could. Brendol had taken Armitage out of his will even, declared him ‘not a son of his’, but had given him a fair portion of his wealth in order to rid himself of the case and the threat of getting slandered in the media. He was also being sent on an early retirement, and thus Phasma finally felt vindicated for what he’d done.

All in all, Armitage was delighted that his father would not be mixing himself in his life ever again, and that he had enough money to build five tiny homes if he wanted to.

The in-between house was rented out as well for the moment, to an old friend of Poe’s called Snap, who was exploring the city with Kaydel and Rose, apparently mutual friends of his.

Holdo was coming to check the newest project on her domain, with a pitcher of home-made lemonade in hand. Rey whistled to the workers, who looked up in confusion, but then with delight at the sight of a refreshment before they climbed down the roof.

While Rey took some glasses from the picnic table and helped Holdo with handing out the lemonade, Hux approached her and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“You’re making great progress,” Holdo complimented them. “I love the slate tiles you’re using for the roof.”

“They’re recycled,” Rey told her. “From an old barn two blocks from here.”

“Over sixty years old,” Hux added. “But they add a bit of a rustic feel to the look of the house.”

“It looks romantic indeed,” Holdo added. “And it’s not even done yet.”

“My guess is that it will be another month at least,” Poe chimed in.

“Yes,” Finn agreed. “But everything should be done by the time the baby arrives.”

Rey beamed happily and as Hux squeezed her shoulder, she smiled at him.

“Well, to a quick and easy build!” Holdo said as she raised her glass, and the others followed her example.

“Hear hear!” Poe agreed.

When the break was over, Rey and Holdo sat and talked for a while, discussing the arrival of the baby and if they’d go to a hospital, and if so, to which one, and who would drive them.

“Oh, Hux is going to buy a car again soon. Not just for the baby, but also to go to farmer’s markets out of town. It will help sell the honey faster, and we might be selling some vegetables too, depending on if there’s too much for us.”

“You’ve got quite a few plans,” Holdo said warmly. “If I may ask, with the baby coming, marriage hasn’t been discussed yet?”

Rey scrunched her nose.

“Not really,” she admitted. “We seem to agree that marriage isn’t a guarantee for happiness, and we don’t really believe in anything, religiously, so we don’t feel a need to wed just now. And we don’t really suffer under a lot of financial pressure in our current unwed state, so it doesn’t feel like there’s a need. We love each other very much, and that’s most important.”

Holdo agreed.

“I’m really happy for you. I feared it was all too soon after you met, but you’re wonderful around one another. I enjoy watching you together, and I’m confident you can make this work.”

“I’m confident too,” Rey agreed, smiling as she looked at Hux as he sat on top of the roof, handing tiles to Poe and taking over his tools as Poe drilled them in place. Hux curiously waited, watched and learned. She could tell he was having fun.

She went to prepare dinner in her home and when Hux came in, he immediately gave her another kiss to her cheek. He did it each time he saw her, and she thought it was the sweetest thing ever. Lately, he often put his hand on her belly as he kissed her, and she felt warm and safe with that gesture alone.

She knew he wasn’t going to leave her for anything, and as he stepped into the shower to clean himself up, she set the table and lit a candle for them. She heard when he’d turned off the tap, and scooped up a plate for the both of them, setting it down on the table at the exact moment he walked out – his hair still wet.

The moment Rey was about to sit down, she froze suddenly, her hand going to her belly as she gasped. Hux froze as well as he watched her, sensing her surprise and for a moment he felt some panic. But then she suddenly relaxed and smiled, looking at him: “He’s kicking!”

Eagerly, Hux stepped towards her, putting his hand along hers on her belly, and he felt it too, his eyes widening as he looked at Rey.

“That’s amazing!” he said, completely in awe.

“You’re amazing,” Rey purred.

“You are,” he argued, bringing his nose to rest against hers as they both scrunched it for a moment, then gave each other a quick peck on the lips.

“No arguing with a pregnant lady,” Rey said strictly. “Eat your meal.”

“Yes, mom,” he joked, and as they both sat down to eat, they laughed.

“You can’t call me that,” she said in mock-offense.

“If I don’t, how’s our little one going to know to call you mommy? We can’t have the child call you ‘Rey’ like it’s our neighbor.”

She chuckled. “I love you,” she sighed happily.

He knew. And he’d always love her, too.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading this story. <3 Please leave me a comment if you've read it - if not for me, then for other readers that might think "Hmmm, I'll skip this story due to the low number of comments for this amount of chapters" - and feel free to recommend it wherever you like to whoever you like! More readers are always welcome. <3
> 
> I really love this story myself, it was an incredibly personal thing to write. Being on the spectrum but not realizing it yourself can be a very painful thing - and fear of confrontation may make you miss out on things that are rightfully yours. Unfortunately, in real life, most people on the spectrum don't have a Rey to stand up for them and make things right.   
If you're struggling with depression or anxiety and feel alienated in your life, despite your high intelligence, strong morals and soft heart, please seek some help. No one deserves to live like an outcast and undiagnosed forms of autism, like Asperger, often aren't recognized, especially in women. If you relate very strongly to Hux in this story, it might be a sign that you're on the spectrum as well. If you're female, I can recommend looking for Tony Attwood's videos on youtube regarding Asperger in women. It's quite different from Asperger in men and that's the reason why it doesn't get diagnosed until a woman's mid-30s in many cases. All I'm saying is: don't postpone getting help like I did when you're miserable and feel 'wrong' about life. Like you're doing it all wrong compared to others.  
And don't think it might not be for you when all you know are the male symptoms. When I was 20, I studied people with autism for a year and did my paper on it - and even then I didn't realize I was on the spectrum because all I was reading about were the symptoms of males with lower IQ. It's a huge spectrum and it manifests in many ways. (But relating to broken and isolated characters like Hux, Kylo, Rey and Phasma is a pretty good place to start...) 
> 
> To those that commented on each and every chapter while I was posting it (Illegal, Moonlight, Akashne) - thanks so much! <3 You're all amazing!
> 
> To my beta, itsquietcompany, thank you so much for your amazing work. <3
> 
> Before Christmas, I'm bringing one more Reyux story to AO3 - titled "An Explosive Affair" - I'm really excited to be writing it. It has way more smut, no tiny house but a HUUUUUUGE castle instead, and a mysterious, grumpy Hux living in it. Rey's got a Harley. Hux has a butler. And then they become fuckbuddies. Merry Christmas, ho ho ho!
> 
> Until then, check my other finished Reyux stories! Especially Comatose, if you haven't read it yet! 
> 
> Once more, thanks for reading this far, and hopefully until I start posting "An Explosive Affair!"  
If you want, just drop me a comment and I'll be certain to let you know once it's up!


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